"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287


Chapter 1: A "Fairy" tale



I was disgusted after yet another day at work, as I took off my grimy Staples shirt and left it on my shelf in the closet, to gather even more dust.

I sat down on my bed and turned on the TV, all the while thinking of how I should quit Staples: the office stupidstore, and try something else.

I pondered these things and then I began to hear the faint sound of my cell phone vibrating from under the mess I had kept in my drawer. I yanked it out from under the various GameBoy Advance games I had accumulated and saw the called ID read "Kim". Frustrated, I put the phone down and let it keep ringing.

Kim was my ex-girlfriend and once a good friend of mine, but we were no longer on talking terms, even if she still tried to talk to me now and then. I had no reason to talk to her, and saw no reason to ever see her again.

By now, you're undoubtedly wondering just who I am. Well, my name is Bobby Gaines, and there's nothing really different about me than from any other 19 year old guy. I go to college, and at a very nice campus called Avery Point in Groton. The view of the ocean can sometimes take my mind off my stress.

I don't have a girlfriend anymore, but what I do have is a crappy job and a lot of stress. Luckily, I have enough good friends to take my mind off those things sometimes.

Anyway, enough synopsis about myself. My real adventure began the next day, on Monday, when I drove into school.

My class started in an hour, so as usual, I'd spend that hour responsibly studying and thinking about my physics class ahead... or not.

I went to the student center and played foosball with my good friend, John.

"Hey, Sarah asked me if you want to go to lunch with us today" John said, while in the heated game of foosball.

"Really? What time?" I asked.

"12:00" John said, defending his goal as I took a fierce shot.

"12? I can't do that, I have an 11:30 class, remember?" I asked.

"Oh right, sorry" John said. "Maybe next time"

Yeah, maybe next time was something I was so used to hearing. Even though I didn't work or have class any more often than anyone else, it seemed that my schedule always found a way to conflict and that's why I never got to do anything fun, unless you call Staples fun.

I look up at the clock and realize it's already 11:35, so I head off to class, quickly ending my foosball game with a 4-2 lead. I run up the stairs to my class, all the while thinking of what could have been. Sarah was a good friend of ours who I didn't get to see enough of these days. I'd figure out something we could do another time, I suppose.

I walk into my physics class when I realize there's noone in there. Geez, class must've been cancelled, and here I was walking in late anyway. Guess I should check my student email more often.

Knowing that class is canceled, I quickly scampered down the many stairs and headed back into the student center, which was also fairly empty at this point. The only people left in there were 3 people playing a game of 8 ball.

"Hey, have any of you seen John?" I asked.

"I think he just left with that girl" one of the guys said. I put my head down and frustration and walked into the other room, taking out my cell phone so that I could possibly get in touch with him before he left for Burger King, his favorite restaurant. Upon dialing his number, however, the message popped up on my phone, "OUT OF MINUTES...RECHARGE SOON!"

"You gotta be kidding me..." I said, through gritted teeth. That's when I realized I was down to my last half minute on my phone and Kim's stupid text message used that up. I can't believe my phone charges me to RECIEVE text messages. Like I'd ever want another text from her again. Okay, so maybe I am a little harsh on her, but still....

I walk to the library and use their computers to go on virgin mobile's website to add more minutes to my phone. As I watch the money dwindle from my bank acount, I wonder if the transaction is even worth it, but decide it couldn't hurt. Even if I was too late to hang out with John and Sarah, I could contact some other friends of mine...if only most of them didn't go to school in Storrs or out of state.

I call John anyway but he doesn't pick up. Of course this failed phone call still costs me a minute, and so I skulk over to the Avery Point bookstore, where I pick up some raemen soup and one of those freeze-dried burgers. What could I say, I was really hungry.

I went down to the water with my food after picking it up and sat down on my usual bench, looking out at the coastline to see New London from across the way. It looked so small from here, and yet I had lived there for 10 years before moving to Montville, where is where I lived now.

I realized that I had to calm down, as I was letting too much get to me. I take a bite of the nasty burger, the cheese kind of oozing out of the back of it whenever I take a bite. It wasn't even worth the dollar I paid for it. Why hadn't I just gone to McDonalds? I had left my bag on the grass, and inside was my candy bar. I told myself that would be the best part of this meal.

I'm about to reach for the candy bar when I notice my bag is seemingly rustling, as if there's something in it. A little paranoid I take my fist and pound it towards the ground, on the outer edge of the bag, hoping to scare off whatever stupid bug or something that had crawled in there. My bag stops rustling but I can still tell there's something in there, because I see a little lump in the bag.

"C'mon, get out of there, stupid fly!" I said, slamming my fist down in anger. This time I heard something I didn't expect. The sound was of a feeble scream that was hard to make out through the plastic bag, but I realized it wasn't a fly I was swatting at. I frowned and looked down at the bag more closely "Uh... I'm sorry for trying to hit you..."

I sat there for a few seconds, staring awkrardly down at the bag, before feeling like an idiot. I decided still to see what was in there.

"Um... do you want to come out?" I asked.

I heard an incomprehensible voice answer back. It sounded like a girl's voice but I couldn't tell what she was saying. The lump in the bag slowly moved towards the handles, to where I could see this figure. That's when I saw her. This tiny, 3 inch tall brown haired girl looked up at the bench in shock and I stared down at her in the same way.

I couldn't believe this was actually happening. I got down on my hands and knees to try to get a closer look at her but she quickly scampered into the grass, running and screaming.

"wAIT!" I shouted, knowing she could still hear me "I WON'T HURT YOU!!"

She suddenly stopped running and turned back. She walked very slowly and cautiously back towards me and got close enough so I could hear her as she said "you won't hurt me? you promise?"

"I promise" I said, and put my hand down on the ground. She looked up at me cautiously, her mouth contorted into this frown of confusion and her eyes looking like she was about to cry. Finally she put her first foot onto my head and clumsily pulled herself onto my palm. I felt her shaking as she first tried to stand straight up but lost her balance so decided to lay down instead. Very slowly I rose to my feet and she looked down at the ground, tears swelling in her eyes as I took us back to the bench to sit down.

She stared at me for several seconds and I stared back at her as she looked in every direction, seemingly dazed. Now I felt really bad for swatting at her earlier. She looked just like any other girl I had gone to school with, except she was so small. She had brown eyes and chestnut hair, and sort of a rosy cheek complexion but not really.

She finally spoke to me in her soft voice, but I could still hear her as she said "Uh...hi" and chuckled nervously. Apparently, she had gotten over her fear for now because she knows if I would've done something to her I would've done it already.

"Hi..." I said softly, trying not to scare her "I'm really sorry I tried to hurt you"

"Heh... it's okay" she said, her tiny voice faltering. She seemed so delicate and yet I could tell that through it all, she was probably a really cool girl that was just freaked out for the moment. "I'm uh... kinda used to it."

"I'm so sorry" I sighed, "I've just been so frustrated lately and... well you probably don't want to hear about that... I mean you're...yeah... and I just don't know..."

"It's okay" the girl said "I'm quite used to this... trust me... I've been small for a long long time..."

I paused for a few moments before finally asking what was burning on my mind now, "How'd you get so small?"

"You wouldn't even believe this but..." the girl started and paused before saying, "I'm a fairy..."

"A fairy?"I asked with a skeptical look on my face, "but don't fairies have wings?"

"I uh... don't want to talk about my wings right now" the girl sighed, and I decided to stop making her feel so uncomfortable. "I'm a fairy... and I've been wandering this campus for years, it's where my family lives... and the only place I've ever known...people never know how to react when they see me... they're not used to seeing something this small"

"What do they do to you when they see you?" I asked.

"Some of them ask me where I'm from, but I usually run away... I'm too afraid of you bigger people... no offense" she said.

"It's fine" I said "I'd probably be afraid too... my name's Bobby by the way"

"I'm Jen" she said, "thanks for being so understanding..."

"Not a problem" I said, still fascinated by her and how trusting she was of me now. She was about half the size of my palm. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'm quite a ways from my home" Jen sighed, "but I like the walking anyway..."

"So you're going to walk all that way back, it must feel like miles to you" I said. The campus wasn't too big but for a fairy, I could only imagine.

"It's no big deal" Jen said "I can handle the walking... in fact, if you could just put me back down in the grass, I could start walking back... I like to walk in the grass because it keeps me more hidden so I don't get picked on by bigger people... oh and sorry for trying to eat your candy bar"

She chuckled a bit when she said that. She seemed like a really cool girl, and I feared that when I let her go, I may never see her again. She might get stepped on or just hide in some underground hole and never come out again. I didn't exactly make a great first impression.

"Hey uh Jen" I said, and she craned her neck upward to see me. "How about if I took you back to your home, yknow save you some walking"

"Uh sure" she said, cracking a slight smile. So I slowly got up again, and this time Jen seemed more confident that I wouldn't drop her.

"It's this way" she said, pointing to the old Branford house, a cathedral like building that I always loved to go in.

"You live in the Branford house?" I asked her.

"Well, not exactly, I live in that little courtyard in front of the branford house" Jen said.

So I took her around the front entrance towards the courtyard and left her under a stone statue like she said.

"Are you sure you're not mad at me for trying to hit you?" I asked.

"No, it's fine..." she said and started to walk away.

"Hey Jen?"I asked, kind of nervously.

"Yeah?" she asked, still maintaining her smile.

"Is it okay if I see you again sometime? Y'know... if you don't mind..." I asked.

"Um yeah... sure... I guess" she said "Yknow where to find me"

"Actually I dont" I sighed "you're so small and this campus is so big in comparison that..."

"703-9402" Jen said, quickly cutting me off.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"703-9402... that's my cell phone number" Jen said, taking out her tiny cell phone.

"Fairies have cell phones?" I asked.

Jen laughed and continued walking away "Just call me sometime, okay?" she said, and then she was gone.

Wow, I couldn't believe it... the impossible had happened... I GOT A GIRL'S PHONE NUMBER!!!

I walked back into the student center and saw John and Sarah.

"Hey, sorry about that" John said, "I heard your class was cancelled... hopefully you weren't too bored"

"No, I found something to do..." I smiled.

"My little friend"

Chapter 2: Getting to know her


The words in class seemed to just bounce off my head that morning. Maybe it was the fact that I had only gotten a few hours of sleep, but more than likely, I was thinking of her again.

She was really all I could think about, as my teacher rambled on about the art of poetry, and writing. When was I ever going to use this stuff? As my teacher spoke on, my pen was moving on the page, but I didn't really write anything coherent, just faded streaks of ink here and there, and finally the frustration ended.

My class was over, and I was free to go and I really hoped that Jen was still at the courtyard in front of the Branford House. I was contemplating whether I'd call her first or just kind of show up.

Well, my contemplating didn't last long, because Sarah quickly stopped me the second I walked outside of the academic center.

"Hey, Bobby" she said, in a cheerful way, that made it impossible to ignore her.

"Oh, hi Sarah" I said, turning towards her with a sense of reluctance, while still being somewhat happy to see her.

"Whatcha up to?" she asked.

I open my mouth to answer when I remember that "I'm off to see my friend who's 3 inches tall, and a fairy" usually doesn't qualify as a sane response, so I just utter "uh...nothing really"

"Cool," Sarah said, "So ya wanna play pool then?"

"Well you know I don't really play pool, I'm more of a foosball guy, and even that's starting to get old and..."

As I rambled on, I noticed Sarah's facial expressions indicating mock sadness and decided to give in. I walked into the student center with her without saying another word, all the while looking out into the distance, wondering where my friend was.

"It's your shot!" Sarah said.

"Huh?" I asked, in a haze of bewilderment as she handed me a pool cue "Oh yeah, the pool game"

I lined up a poor shot on the 8 ball and it bounces off a knick in the table, sending it off in an outlandish direction.

"Uh Bobby, you know that if you make the 8 ball in, you lose, right?"Sarah asked, as some spectators watching me had started chuckling.

"Oh yeah... you're right..." I mumbled, as I handed her the pool cue back, gazing outdoors, wondering where she was.

I wondered what she did all day, and if she enjoyed being outside all the time. Sure, Avery Point was a fun place to be, and for her, it must've been infinitely larger to explore, but how much could one really do there all the time? And what did she on windy days, or rainy days? Well then again, she's been small her whole life, so I guess she had to have some kind of plan for those situations. Still, I can't help but think of her situation further and feel this inevitable sense of guilt, even though I hadn't done anything wrong, except try to hit her, of course.

"Bobby!" Sarah said, handing me the pool cue again. At this point I had almost lost the game anyway. Sarah was a pretty good pool player and I sucked even on normal days. A good pool player offered to sub in for me and I took his offer, handing off my pool cue.

I started to head for the double doors and the exit when John cut me off, simply pointing at the foosball table, which was our usual signal for "Game on", but this time I really didn't feel like playing. Again, I remember though, that I can't tell anyone about Jen, unless of course, she wanted me to, but she didn't seem too fond of us "bigger people".

"So what's up?" John asks, after moments of silent foosball.

"Oh y'know..." I sighed, fighting off all of his foosball shots with relative ease, "Just a little stressed out"

"yeah I know what you mean" he said, not focused in the game, just like me, "Can you believe my teacher wants ANOTHER 7 page paper?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Well I told you how my american studies class has this big, final paper that's 7 pages long?" John asked, not waiting for me to answer before he kept speaking, "well now I heard we have 2 7 page papers due and one of them is due next week... I gotta get on that...y'know... now"

"Then why are we playing foosball?" I asked.

"We ALWAYS play foosball" he exclaimed, in a fashion consistent with his personality.

"Fine, fine, you're right" I said, cracking a smile. Even though I loved the game known as foosball, I realized that Jen was more important at this point. I had to think of a legitamite excuse to get out, but I could only think of a vague one.

"Hey uh... I'm gonna go" I said suddenly, stepping away from the foosball table mid-game.

"Where do you have to go?" John scoffed, "you don't have class for 2 hours"

"I know, but I kind of... need a walk" I said.

"Oh, are you going to that dumb hideout again?" John laughed.

"Uh yes! That's where I'm going!" I said, my eyes lighting up with excitement that I just might escape, "So you probably wouldn't want to come..."

"That's not true... I love the hideout" John said, "remember the time we almost got arrested there?"

"Which time?" I chuckled. "I mean... maybe I'm not going to the hideout"

"Fine. Fine." John groaned, "Go where you gotta go... I'll find SOMETHING to do..."

Of course, I didn't hear much more from him, because I left mid-way through his sentence. He didn't think I'd actually leave but I had, and I walk outside to the Branford House.

The scene is quiet, as the only noise in the environment are some sprinters running on the brick path, but they were far from the Branford House, which is where I'd go to search for my friend.

I didn't want to be seen by any bystanders passing by talking to the air, so I whispered "Jen" several times as I paced the outside of the branford house.

The outside was actually really gorgeous with old-styled mosaic stone tiles, and pillars about 10 feet high. I walked slowly into the stone garden, being careful not to step on her. God, wouldn't that be awful.... I don't think I could live with myself if I ever killed someone, especially like that, that's beyond horrible.

I decide to pick up my cell phone and call her. I dial 4 digits on my phone when I feel a curious tap on the back of my sneaker. Too scared to move, I simply aim my vision downward and see her, waving to me from down below, her hand gripped on the back of my sneaker.

"Heh, you mind letting go?" I asked, too scared to move too fast and throw her away. She backed up so I had room to kneel down now.

"Hey" she said, with a strange smile on her face. It was only strange because I'm not used to seeing girls so happy to see me. "I didn't think you'd come back"

"Well why wouldn't I?" I said, and I slowly put my hand down in front of her. She stepped onto it and laid down like before. "It's not everyday I meet someone so..."

"Small?" she laughed.

"Well that too, but I was going to say awesome" I chuckled.

"You don't have to flatter me" she said.

"I'm not... I'm just saying" I said, feeling really weird inside all of a sudden. Not so much that I was holding a girl in the palm of my hand, although that was certainly surreal in itself, but just this weird feeling like everything was perfect, which isn't usually the case.

"Hey, let's sit somewhere with a better view" Jen said, as we had been in the middle of the stone garden, with me still knelt down. "How about down more by the water?"

"Okay" I said, slowly getting up with her balanced in my palm, "hang on"

"Yeah yeah, I know the drill" Jen said. She tried to be cool about it but something in her eyes told me she was still a bit uneasy about me holding her. That's why when we sit on a stone bench down by the shore, I put her down next to me, so she has the entire bench to navigate.

"Bobby..." she said, after a few moments of silently looking out at the water, "...I haven't known you long, but you seem different..."

"Different?" I asked, "well I could say the same about you"

"Y'know what I mean" she chuckled, "you seem a lot different than most people I've encountered... being in this area so long I've been able to observe a lot of people from afar and you seem more keen to details... I don't know... I mean, I like it... I really do..."

"You like me?"

"Well yeah..." she said, sounding very confused in general, as she kept switching her focus between myself and the ocean. "I don't know what I'm trying to say... it's just really nice, I haven't had any friends since... well..."

"Since what?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing" Jen sighed.

"You can tell me" I said.

"I said it's NOTHING!!" Jen said, her voice raising to a level louder than I had ever heard.

"Okay, I'm sorry" I said.

"No, I'm sorry" Jen said. "I shouldn't snap at you, it's not your fault... none of this is your fault..."

"I suppose..." I said, and suddenly cut my speech off. For the first time in the day, I had no clue what to say next and it scared me.

"Hey, whats that noise?" Jen asked, backing away from me now. I looked down and noticed my phone was vibrating in my pocket.

"Oh, my phone" I said, and picked it up really quickly, not wanting to divert my attention from Jen at all. "Oh geez, it's Kim"

"Kim?" she asked.

"My ex-girlfriend" I sighed, "she's a bit of a...well, I won't say it, but you know"

"Why don't you talk to her anymore?" Jen asked, as I put my phone away.

"It's a long story..." I sighed.

"Yeah, I understand" Jen said, and kind of choked up when she said "I had problems... with my ex too..."

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking down at her with concern.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine" she said, and regained her composure. "Y'know there is something I want to ask you"

"Sure" I said.

"Being this small..." Jen said, "it gets kind of tiresome to walk long distances... so I was wondering if you could show me around campus... maybe...?"

"Sure" I said, kind of excited by the opportunity. "Let's uh..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I got another phone call, this time from John.

"Is that Kim again?" Jen asked.

"No, it's my friend, John" I sighed, "hold on... I gotta take this, or else he'll keep calling"

I pick up my cell phone and say "Hello?"

"Hey, you're not in the hideout" John said.

"I told you I wouldn't be in the hideout!" I sighed with frustration. John could be so stubborn sometimes.

"Then where are you?" he asked.

"Where am I?" I asked again out loud "I'm just outside with..."

I looked down at Jen really quick to see her shaking her head and making hand motions signaling "don't tell him anything", so I interuppted myself.

"You're where?" John asked.

"Uh... I'm not on campus... I left, for Wal-Mart" I said, "I needed... tea-bags"

"Tea-bags?" John asked, "You're weird..."

"I'm weird?" I asked, "you're the one standing around the hideout alone"

"Hey, you do it too!" John said.

"Yeah I do..." I replied. "Can I go now? This call is costing me valuable minutes"

"FINE" John said, and we ended our call.

"Hey Bobby" Jen said, "What's... the hideout?"

"Oh, it's stupid" I said, "You wouldn't want to go"

"No, c'mon.... show me..." Jen said.

"You serious?" I asked.

"Yeah, c'mon... take me there" she said again, and stepped into my hand.

"Well the hideout is just this place..." I started to explain.

"Don't TELL me, SHOW me!" she said, and so I kept walking onward, without saying another word.

"My little friend"

Chapter 3: Avery Point Adventure

I slowly cracked open the door on the third floor, making sure to be as quiet as possible, as I kept Jen cupped in my left hand.

"What is this place?" she said, in a hushed tone, trying not to blow our cover as I stepped out into the stretching hallway.

The place was dull looking to say the least, but I had grown quite accustomed to it's quaint charms. It was basically a restricted area on campus (hence our prior arrests) that used to be used for office buildings. Some of the offices were suspiciously left unlocked, and were filled with old copiers, dust and peeling wallpaper, while most other doors were locked but always offered me a sense of mystery, that maybe one day, some of those locked doors would open.

I don't even remember how I found this place, but probably the same way I found every other place... through poking around where I didn't belong, but I didn't do it to cause michief, I only did it to explore, and I loved exploring.

"Well Jen..." I said, keeping my voice hushed, as the hallway could produce a loud echo, "This is my hideout, it's where I come to think... you may not think of it as much but..."

"Bobby, you're talking to a girl who's been mostly living in a courtyard for months now" Jen said, "Any change of scenery is fine, and this place isn't too bad actually"

I looked down and observed Jen looking around, over the edges of my hand to observe the place around her, not that there was much to observe.

"Well then, allow me to give you the grand tour" I said, slowly walking with her, still resting in my hand. "This room I'm about to show you is one that actually IS unlocked"

Just then, I heard a voice from around the corner and Jen instantly began to panic.

"Hide me!!" she said out loud, looking up at me and waving her arms frantically.

"Hide you? Hide you where?!" I asked, as a shadow appeared from around the corner.

"I don't care!!" Jen said, still in an urgent tone, "put me in your pocket!"

"Okay okay" I said, and gently slipped Jen into my left pants pocket. Unfortunately for her, it was pretty crowded with my wallet and iPod. I felt her squirm between them, trying to get comfortable it seemed.

"Bobby? Is that you?" I heard the voice say. Predictably enough, John came out from the other room. Apparently, he had stayed in the hideout anyway.

"Uh, hey John" I said, trying to let my panic fade into casualness (which may or may not be a word). "Uh... whats up?"

"I knew you weren't getting tea-bags!" John scoffed, and paced around me, as if he was interogating me. "So what are you doing here?"

"Uh, just checking the ol' place out, yknow" I said nervously, "Wanted to make sure everything was still here"

Just then I felt Jen squirming some more and she tickled my thigh somewhat. I kind of gave off an awkrard chuckle.

"what's so funny?" John asked.

"Uh, nothing, nothing" I sighed, feeling really bad about cramming my fairy friend into my pocket like that. "Say, don't you have that 7 page paper to start?"

"Eh, I could do that anytime" John shrugged, "seems like you're avoiding me though"

"I'm not avoiding you" I said, feeling very nervous about this whole thing. I really wish I could just tell him aboUT Jen, about what I was really doind, it would do me a lot of good right now and it would do Jen a lot of good, because she wouldn't be as uncomfortable as she was.

"Well then... how about we..." John started, but then was interuppted by his cell phone. As he answered it, I thought to myself about just how many times people kept getting interuppted by cell phones, myself included. This time, it kind of helped me out.

"That was Sarah" John said, "She wants to go to burger king"

"Didn't you just go there yesterday?" I asked.

"Yeah, whats your point?" John asked. "You coming?"

"Uh... no... I can't" I said abruptly, without even thinking about it.

"Let me guess, you got more TEA-BAGS to get" John sighed in frustration.

"I guess you could say that" I said, realizing I was ticking him off for real this time.

"Fine, whatever" John said, and went out the door, and back down the steps. As soon as I was sure he gone, I slowly pulled Jen out of my pocket, feeling terrible about putting her in there.

Her hair was slightly ruffled, but otherwise she looked fine, and seemed fine too, even though she had to stretch a little in my hand before she said it was okay to keep walking.

"Y'know Bobby" Jen said, as I took the long way out of the hideout, just so I wouldn't run into anyone else I know, "You didn't have to say no to him, you could've gone to Burger King... I feel kinda bad"

"Why do you feel bad?" I asked.

"I don't know... because I'm sort of a burden..." she said, with a frown, "if you didn't have to hide me, you could've..."

"No, please stop" I groaned, stopping now to look her straight in the eye, or as best I could "I could've gone with them, but I didn't want to... I wanted to be with you"

We tried to avoid the mushy "Aw..." moment and move on, although the silence following that line wasn't much better than the mushiness. Jen did smile a little though, so I know that she felt appreciated, which is how I wanted her to feel, because my life felt so much more exciting with her in my life... or hand, in this case.

"Well then" Jen said, "why don't we go on an adventure?"

"Now you're speaking my language" I said with excitement, as I pulled open the door for us and walked back outside. I made sure to take fairly deserted routes so noone would see me talking to my hand as I walked. "What did you have in mind, Jen?"

"I don't know, how about the marine science building?" Jen asked, and pointed to the massive gray building with the steel green roof. I, of course knew this building all too well, as it was the site of yet another of my famous "Arrests".

The Marine science building is where I filmed a series of youtube videos called "Marine Mayhem" which became hated by the police, who considered them a mockery to the building. So when I tried to make the fifth movie in the series, I was finally caught. Not only was I told to get rid of the movies, but I wasn't allowed to return to the marine science building, since I wasn't a marine science major. All that history aside though, we all know what I said to Jen at that moment.

"The marine science building? Sure!" I said, and took her over to the forbidden zone. I brought us in through the side entrance, meaning we came out on the very first floor, the basement. I couldn't resist but to explore.

"Wow, this place is pretty cool" Jen said, her eyes lighting up, "Sorry if you think I'm a dork for enjoying this"

"You obviously don't know me Jen" I said, holding her snugly in my hand as we slowly took in the sights of this large basement. The hallway we were in made the "hideout" look like a closet, as it went on for quite a while before providing an elevator at the end. I wanted to try to stay away from the main parts of the building as much as possible, and I knew few avery point police meandered down in the basement, so this was a good place to conduct our exploring.

It's just too bad that the basement didn't have much to offer outside of the initial reaction one gets upon walking into it. Jen even seemed over the thrill of being in this massive place, so I decided to show her a place that was probably my favorite on campus, although one I was extremely banned from.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed "floor 3", the top floor of the building. Let me rephrase that -- the top floor accessible by elevator.

Anyway, Jen and I both kind of panicked when the elevator stopped at floor 2, signaling that someone else would be stepping in. Reluctantly, I slid her into my pants pocket again. A janitor stepped into the elevator, on his way to the third floor. I looked at him and gave him a casual nod as we rose to level 3 at last. Once the janitor and I had gone our seperate ways, I took Jen out of my pocket again.

"Maybe next time, you should put me in your OTHER pocket" Jen sighed, "the one with less stuff in it"

"You're right... sorry" I said, "it's just that I'm left-handed and..."

"It's fine, I'm just saying" Jen said, interuppting me, yet again. It seems I have a habit of talking too much. "So where are we going?"

"To the most awesome place there is" I said with a grin and Jen looked at me with a look of confusion.

I opened another door which revealed another staircase that went up a couple of flights. At the top of the stairs was a green door, marked "NO ADMITTANCE". I stepped into it and brought us into a small gray chamber of sorts. Without saying another word, I opened another door that led to the massive boiler room on the top. This was extremely off-limits, yet had no security so it wasn't that big a deal.


"Bobby, are you sure we're supposed to be here?" Jen asked, looking around, both dazzled and scared.

"Do you want the REAL answer, or the one you want to hear?" I asked, with a grin, taking a good look around.

"I guess not" Jen laughed.

I cracked open another door, and this one led to outside. Jen hastily interuppted me before I could finish opening it. She screamed "What are you doing?" but I looked down at her and said "Trust me"

I took us outside, onto the roof of the marine science building. From there, we could see everything there was to see... we could see the water, the sky, the trees, the branford house, and if you really looked you could still the coastline of new london in the distance, looking as small as ever. I sat down on the roof and placed Jen safely next to me. Some sharp winds blew in our face.

"Do you come up here often?" Jen asked, looking up at me.

"I used to"I sighed "it turns out I'm not actually allowed up here"

"Yeah, but it didn't seem to stop you" Jen said.

"I just wanted to show you" I said, "it's not fair that you're always cooped up down my the Branford house"

"Hey, I might live outside, for the most part, I do some exploring of my own" she said, "I sometimes walk inside the branford house and listen to people play the grand piano, and sometimes I even walk to the basement"

"You've been in that basement?" I asked, in glee "Me too!"

"Yeah, except I'm guessing you got caught" Jen smiled and winked at me.

"Yeah..." I sighed, "how'd you get away with it?"

"Uh hello? I'm the size of a mouse, silly!" Jen chuckled "It's pretty easy to hide... one of the advantage of being small"

A few awkrard moments wander by when I decide to ask her a question I had pondered for some time.

"What's it like?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"What's it like ... to be small?" I asked. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to..."

"Well..." Jen said, taking a deep pensive breath before answering, "it's not TOO much different from being 'big', I suppose... it's all relative, y'know? If you see a big castle or something, you feel small in comparison, right?"

"I guess"

"Well, just imagine the world is made up of big castles and things... that's pretty much my world" Jen said. "The difference for you though is there's not really any creature bigger than you, except dinosaurs that don't exist anymore..."

"Do you ever get scared?" I asked her.

"I used to... until I got used to it" Jen sighed. For some reason, her voice kind of drifted off into sadness a little bit.

"Jen, you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Jen said, with a smile. I couldn't tell if it was a real smile or not anymore. "Do you have any more questions about me?"

"I don't want you to think I'm examining you or anything..." I said, feeling guilty, "I just wanted to know..."

"I know, it's fine, really..." Jen said, smiling again, "I just like having someone to talk to, so please... ask away"

"Well you said you were a fairy" I said, "do you have any magic powers or anything"

Jen sighed and said "Unfortunately no... Bobby, I'm not really that much different from a human... except for my size... in fact there's nothing special about me at all, except for my size"

"Don't say that, you're wonderful" I said.

"How do you even know that?" Jen asked, "you just met me... you only like me because I'm unique... something different... but not in a good way..."

"You're different in a very good way" I said to her, "I'm intrigued by you... but not because of your size... because of you... you're mysterious and I'd like to get to know you better"

"Trust me, Bobby..." Jen sighed "you don't want to get to know me... at least not everything..."

"But I do" I said, starting to feel a bit pushy.

"Well... well, what about you?" Jen said, suddenly trying to change the subject.

"Huh? What about me?" I asked her.

"Well you know, you want to know so much about me..." Jen said, "maybe I want to know more about you..."

"Okay, like what?" I asked.

"Well, here's a random question" Jen said, with a smile, "what's with all the Maroon 5 on your ipod?"

"I love maroon 5" I said, then paused to look at her for a few seconds with an inquisitive stare, "how'd you know what was on my ipod..."

"I got bored in your pocket" Jen said.

"AH right..." I said, "sorry about that"

"I'm guessing you apologize a lot too" Jen said.

"Yeah, that's something I do a lot" I said, "mainly because I'm such a screw-up and everything... I have low self esteem..."

"You shouldn't..." Jen said, "You have a great group of friends, and you do a lot of weird things, that are cool"

"Thanks, Jen" I said, giving her a sincere smile. "Speaking of weird things, we should probably leave here... I could get in trouble because I filmed a youtube video here"

"You what?" Jen asked, as I picked her up.

"Just remember you said I was cool" I laughed, as we walked away.

I continue walking and talking with Jen as we're on the way back to the Branford house when she says, "hey didn't you have a class in 2 hours?"

"Oh yeah, you're right" I said, "do you mind if I leave you back in the courtyard?"

"Yeah, no problem" Jen said, "yknow, you didn't have to spend your whole break with me"

"Are you kidding me? It was great!" I exclaimed, "I can't wait to do it again"

"Heh, me too" Jen smiled. It seemed that neither of us wanted to let the other know just how excited we were about the other. "Oh, one more thing, before you leave me off"

"Yeah?"

"You have my phone number... I think it's only fair that I get yours" Jen said, taking out her cell phone.

"Ah right" I said, setting her down near the stone statues in the courtyard, "My number is... 712-7729"

"Thanks" Jen said, closing her phone, "hey, I'll see you later, okay?"

"But of course" I said, and walked away... feeling very satisfied, if not a little confused by the whole thing.

"My little friend"

Chapter 4: Emotional Distress


And so I sat, at around midnight that night, by my computer, twirling to and fro in my office chair, just thinking about everything that had happened.

My entire routine had been completely altered by this, and it didn't have to be, I could've just left her in the grass and moved on. But something made me want to learn more, and even now, I feel like I know nothing about my fairy friend.

She seemed very mysterious in a lot of ways, and despite the fact that she liked seeing me, I felt bad, because she seemed deeply disturbed with something.

She mentioned having troubles with an ex, which was partially my fault for bitching about Kim in the first place, but how could she have an ex? Well I guess there must've been more fairies than just her... it makes sense, I guess.

There were certain topics I'd just have to stay away from, I supposed. I really liked seeing her, there was just something about her. She was so unpredictable, so much different than my friends, guys or girls.

I had gotten nothing done in class that day, and nothing done at work either, although that's not much of a change. I can usually never focus on work anyway, because, well it sucks, but y'know...

I did see John again that afternoon, and we played our usual marathon of foosball. I still couldn't stop thinking about Jen though, and what she was doing. I wondered if she lived in this underground grotto or something. I sure hoped she wasn't simply exposed to the elements of the outdoors.

It was nighttime now, and I wondered how she slept, if she had a house that was simply miniature or if she slept under trees, using leaves as blankets. Then again, she had a cell phone, and wore normal clothes that were miniature, so surely she must've had other miniature accomodations, right?

I was overthinking everything right now and --

"Hey"

I glanced up my computer screen to see John was IMing me. I decided to respond, and apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to ditch him, or any of my friends. I really wish I could've shown Jen to my other friends, they wouldn't have hurt her.

But then I got to thinking, if I had shown Jen to them, in a public place, there's no telling what other chaos could've arisen. There's probably a reason why Jen keeps hidden so much, she doesn't want to cause a commotion or anything.

"HEY, YOU STILL THERE?"

I noticed John had sent me a long trail of IM's in the time it had taken me to think about Jen and everything.

"Hey, yeah I'm here..." I typed in.

"So what was with the teabags?" John said, through IM.

"Oh, I just needed some time alone"

"You could've just said that, I wouldn't have cared"

"Yeah you would've... you would've followed me" I said back.

"I really would've" John said.

"Don't worry, we'll hang out tomorrow" I typed in, not really sure of how much truth was in that statement. After all, I had a certain tiny girl to attend to. I didn't want to overdo it though, and scare her away. She had an extraordinary amount of trust in me. I wondered why she'd be so trusting of me, since she seemed generally terrified of all others. I decided not to question it and soon went to bed, with questions swirling in my mind.

I woke up the next morning and quickly headed to Avery Point. It was about 10 AM when I got there and I actually felt good for a change. Believe it or not, I wasn't even thinking about Jen, but instead just making this day the best it could be. I was open to anything at this point.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'd try new things, because I found myself in front of the foosball table again, as Sarah pressured John and I to join her for a 3 player game of pool. Luckily, I was able to escape the game by going to class.

Too bad going to physics class wasn't my ideal escape plan. I tried furiously to take notes on everything my teacher was saying, but somehow the words that were being said died in mid-air and only about half of them were translated onto my notebook page, usually in sloppy fashion so that I'd have sentences like...

"speed car 45 down angle slope find important jen find angle in down

with many spaces in between the words.

As my teacher rambled on and I attempted to follow along, I began to wonder in my head if I was even sane or not. Maybe finding Jen was the last step to my going insane. My mundane routine was the only thing that I had in common with normal people, and that was broken by my random trips around campus with a girl the size of my fist. I didn't mind this change of pace, of course, but still, it's thrown me even more off track than I was before.

Still, I feel a slight sense of pride in myself that I'm able to jot down a few more pages of barely coherent notes. I hope to myself that when I read them later, I can fill in the blanks in my mind somehow.

On my way downstairs from my classroom, I feel my phone vibrate and notice I have a text message. It's a fairly short one that says "Hey, I'm bored." and it's from Jen.
At that moment, I wanted only to drop my books in the middle of the hallway and go running through the crowded corridors to find her, but that wouldn't be normal, so I just sped up my walking slightly.

"Hey Bobby!" I heard someone say. I turned around to see Sarah again. Man, my friends were everywhere all of a sudden. I wish I saw them this often BEFORE I made my unusual new acquaintance.

"Oh, hi" I said, trying to think of an excuse quickly to get to Jen. "I'd love to talk, Sarah, but I have to get to the Branford house"

"Oh, can I come?" Sarah asked with enthusiasm, "the branford house is really pretty"

"You wouldn't want to come" I said, "I have an advising session with Mr... Marletto..."

"Is that even a real guy?" Sarah asked.

"It could be" I shrugged, "I mean... yeah, he's my advisor, it'd be boring, you just sitting there, while I get... advice... from Marzito"

"Marletto..." Sarah groaned.

"Riiiight" I said, feeling nervous as we neared the exit of the academic center. I decided I had to break this off now if I wanted any chance to see Jen. I only had a 20 minute break between classes so I'd only get to talk to her for a short time. "Well, I'll see ya, Sarah, tell John I said hi"

I quickly walked off and felt bad, because I cut Sarah off in mid-speech, but I really wanted some time with Jen today. Wednesdays were unfortunately my busiest days of the week. I'd only be able to talk to Jen for 20 minutes, because after my class at 1, I'd have to go straight to work in Norwich, which was a frustrating half an hour drive.

I walk up the steps to the courtyard, but this time I notice a few older people looking around the area, observing the flowers and taking picture. I suddenly feel great fear for Jen who lived somewhere in the garden, but I figured she realized they were there and wouldn't let herself get stepped on. Just then, my phone vibrated once more. It was Jen.

"Hello?" I said, briefly attracting the attention of bystanders, who then kept walking by.

"Bobby" Jen said, "meet me around the corner, in the shade"

So I walked around the side of the building and looked around carefully for Jen, but I didn't see her. Finally I noticed a figure in the corner waving her arms around and jumping up and down. It was kinda adorable, actually, but yeah... it was obviously Jen.

I went into the corner and knelt down again.

"Hey Bobby" she said, in a cheerful way, "nice to see you again"

"Heh, nice to be seen" I said, realizing afterwards that was the lamest thing to say. "You look well"

"Wait..." Jen said, pausing, "why are we talking like this?"

"I...don't know" I said and emitted a nervous chuckle. I don't know why I was so nervous around her just then. I just wanted to say all the right things. I had made a good impression on Jen, but I make good impressions on lots of people. The key is to keep the impressions lasting. "So how was your morning"

"Okay, I guess" Jen said, "I'm still a little tired"

"Well, how much sleep did you get?" I asked, not sitting down on the little raised structure in the path so I wouldn't look so weird talking to what looked like the wall.

"I got some sleep, but I kept waking up in the middle of the night" Jen said.

"How is it to sleep outside?" I asked.

"I actually didn't sleep outside last night" Jen said, "I slept in the basement, last night, the branford house basement... you gave me the idea when we were talking yesterday so I thought Id try it..."

"Was it cool?" I asked.

"For a little while, I guess" she said, "but then it got kinda creepy... it's really dark there at night... and I'm kinda not tall enough to reach the light switch"

"Wait, how do you get up the stairs?" I asked, not trying to be mean. "I mean when you want to come back up..."

"That's the annoying part" Jen said, "I can't really climb steps too well, y'know unless they're really small ones, so I have to wait for someone to get into an elevator and chase them in"

"And noone sees you?" I asked.

"I'm pretty careful about not being spotted" Jen said, "plus as I've said, people are in such a hurry these days... noone pays attention to the finer details in life... the smaller things"

I wanted to say some smaltzy line there about how the smallest packages have the biggest things in them, or something stupid like that, but I decided even that level of lameness was out of my league.

"So Jen, I was wondering..." I began, but then I heard footsteps, getting louder, as if someone was running right towards us. Jen quickly scampers away as Sarah's shadow overcasts us both. I sigh with frustration.

"hey, whatcha doing?" Sarah asked, with curiousity.

"nothing..." I sigh, heading away from her, "just going to class..."

"You okay?" Sarah asked.

"yeah, I'm fine..." I sighed and walked off. I was right in the middle of talking to Jen when she ran off. She really didn't want my friends to know she existed.

So I slogged through another class fairly soon after that, armed with only my notebook and a futile effort to focus. But now I felt horrible for scaring Jen away, even if it wasn't really my fault. Hopefully she understood... oh, I could be such a dumbass sometimes.

After class, I had to drive right to work. I couldn't afford to be late again or I'd probably actually get in trouble. I'm about halfway to Norwich when I feel my phone vibrating. I frantically reach into my pocket to pick it up, and sure enough, it's her.

"Hi Jen" I said, suddenly acclerating my speech exponentially "I'm so sorry about earlier, I didn't tell Sarah to show up, I have no idea why she showed up, in fact I don't even know that her name is SARAH!"

"Bobby, Bobby, calm down" Jen said, seeming to find my tirade at least somewhat amusing, so I know she wasn't mad at me. "I understand what happened earlier wasn't your fault, or anyone's fault... it just happened, and I was just calling to ask if you wanted to kill some time with me"

"Oh, I would" I sighed, coasting along with traffic on the groton bridge. "But I'm on my way to work"

"Ah, that's right... I believe you've alluded to some horrible job you have" Jen said.

"Yeah, don't even get me started... I hate my job" I said.

"Then why are you still at it?" Jen asked.

"I... I don't know" I sighed. I never knew how to truly answer that question. Obviously the money was my biggest incentive but other jobs paid too.

"Well, I guess I can't see you today then" Jen said, trying to hide some sadness that was resonated in her voice.

"Yeah... I'm sorry" I groaned, as part of me wanted to turn around going at 70 mph, but I knew that'd be stupid. "I'll definitely be around tomorrow... in fact I'm around everyday, well except weekends, of course... but hey, I could visit you on weekends too, if you wanted"

Jen started laughing on the line, "wow, Bobby... I swear, you try too hard sometimes"

"Sorry" I said, trying to cover my embarassment with laughter.

"No, it's fine." Jen said, sounding happy all of a sudden, "that's what I like about you"

I cracked a big smile there, and almost got too distracted, nearly colliding with the car in front of me.

"Did I just hear a car beep at you?" Jen asked.

"Yeah... probably" I said, "I wasn't really paying attention"

"Apparently not" Jen chuckled "How do you do at work? Get a lot done?"

"Not really" I said, "I used to, when I first started but now I just don't care... Staples doesn't give me any reason to try harder..."

"Well that attitude's no good" Jen said.

"Hey, try working at Staples and tell me how it is" I said.

"Ha!" Jen laughed, "try being 3 inches high and see how it is"

"I guess you got me beat" I laughed, "not that being 3 inches high is a bad thing or anything"

"Chill, Bobby" Jen said, "you don't have to be so politcally correct around me... y'know, I'm aware of my size, and it doesn't bother me if you point it out"

"I know, I know" I said.

"Hey, I should probably let you get going anway" Jen said, "you got work coming up, plus you use a pre-paid phone so... see you tomorrow?"

"But of course" I said, and we soon hung up after that. I sighed to myself as I stared out my window, putting the phone down on my seat, when it struck me... not that I hadn't known already. I mean, it was quite obvious... what was going on... and the truth I was trying to hide to myself...

I was falling in love...with Jen.

"My Little Friend"

-by Sonicfan287

Chapter 5: Doubts and denial

No way, I told myself, as I woke up the next morning in a state of flux. No way, I said to myself as I showered, and got dressed. I couldn't believe this, but it was infinitely true.

I sat down to my quick breakfast, as usual, of a rice krispie treat and Pepsi (orange juice was in short supply these days) and I couldn't stop thinking about Jen. Sure, I had some paper due today or something, but I had just kept putting it off in my mind, and hadn't gotten more than a paragraph done.

"I can't be in love with her" I found myself saying in my head, "if I was in love with her, I would know... I can't be in love with her... I mean, I just met her"

Just then I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and panicked. I quickly yanked out and checked the caller ID for her name, but no... it was the OTHER one... Kim.

I groaned and left my phone on the table... not that it mattered. I didn't care if Jen called... no big deal. It's not like I was in love with her or anything. That would just be weird... not to mention impossible.

As I drove myself to school, I kept thinking about the possibility, of asking Jen out. At the beginning of the week, I had no clue she even existed, and now 4 days later, I was thinking of asking her out? I didn't even ask Kim out until I knew her for 2 years, and what a mistake that turned out to be.

Ugh... this was no time to think about Kim... OR Jen for that matter. I loved the change of pace of seeing her, and I loved the surprise I got. She was such a pleasant addition to my life, but I'd have to stay friends with her. There's no way she'd go out with me.

On the other hand, our friendship had all the things a great relationship should have... a mutual understanding of one another, trust... well, actually, I didn't understand Jen that well at all. There were many factors about her that were still cloudy... many things about her past she refused to share, but she had the right to do that.

I realized I was almost at school and had spent most of my 30 minute drive thinking about this. I decided maybe some time away from Jen would be best, to give my brain a rest. Of course, if Jen wanted to see me, I'd be more than happy to oblige.

I only had 1 class today, but of course, I had work right after that, and that frustrated me terribly.

I walked to the student center and saw Sarah watching Tv, the pool table left vacant. John wasn't there, and in fact, noone was there, except for Sarah and I.

"Hi, Bobby" she said, flipping through several dozen channels in a matter of seconds.

"Hey Sarah" I said, making a genuine effort to pay attention to the situation at hand. "Uh... wanna play pool?"

"You're ASKING to play pool?" Sarah laughed, but she had already gotten up and walked towards the pool table, "well okay, I guess..."

So Sarah and I drifted over to the pool table and she set up the rack. I always liked playing pool when the room was abandoned because then noone would see how badly I sucked at this game, except for Sarah of course, but she already knew that.

"So Bobby" Sarah said, setting up to break, "is there anything you want to talk about?"

I waited for her to break before responding, "What do you mean?"

"Well, John tells me you've been very evasive" Sarah said, after sinking the 3 ball off the break and taking another shot "and Ive noticed it too..."

"Yeah...sorry" I said, and without even noticing, I had taken out my cell phone and was staring at it.

"Hey, it's your turn, y'know" Sarah said. "You can stop gazing into your cell phone..."

"Oh, right"I said, leaving my phone on the table instead, as I took a pool cue and made one of my trademark horrible shots.

"Anyway..." Sarah said, able to focus on conversation and pool at the same time. I wish I could focus on 2 simultaneous things. "...if there's something up, you can tell us... or me, at least, I won't make fun of you"

"No, there's nothing wrong" I said, grabbing at my cell phone quickly and scrolling through text messages to see if I had any new ones. I did not.

"It's a girl" Sarah sighed, handing me the pool cue.

"Uh what?" I asked.

"It's a girl... you like a girl" Sarah said.

"No... no of course not" I said nervously, "I mean girls are cool and all, but..."

"I can tell, Bobby" Sarah said, "I've known you long enough to tell when you're 'in love'"

"I'm not in love!!" I yelled, and took a pool shot in which I didn't even attempt to aim at the ball.

"If you say so..." Sarah said, and there was a long awkrard pause before she took another shot and asked, "...so what's her name?"

"There is no name, there is no girl" I sighed, "Please stop asking"

"Okay okay" Sarah said, and then I felt bad for snapping at her at all. She was just trying to help, and I could use much help.

"But uh.. if there WAS a girl..." I sighed, feeling nervous about talking about this, "...just hypothetically speaking... how would I go about... uh... asking 'this girl' out... if there was one... which there isnt"

"I knew it" Sarah smiled, and I didn't have to say anything else for her to know I was indeed troubled by a woman. "Well, Bobby, you just gotta be yourself... and, well for one thing, do you know this girl well already?"

"Well, I only met her a few days ago, but we've really hit it off" I said, "Or I guess you could say..."

"Well that explains where you were with the tea-bags" Sarah laughed. "Oh by the way, I won the game of pool 10 minutes ago"

"Yeah yeah whatever" I said.

"So what about her do you like?" Sarah asked.

"Well, she's pretty, she's awesome, she always knows just what to say... I don't know what else" I sighed, bringing back distinct memories of Jen, as we walked around campus the other day, "she makes everything feel great... I don't even think of other things when I'm with her... I just think about her"

"Aw, that's sweet" Sarah said, "Why don't you tell her that?"

"I guess I could..." I sighed, "I don't know"

"Does she go to school here?" Sarah asked.

"I guess you could say that" I sighed, starting to think I was giving away too much.

"Well, if you want my opinion" Sarah said, and started walking back to the TV, "I think you should ask her out"

"Thanks, Sarah... oh, I uh gotta go" I said.

"You got class?"

"Not quite" I said, and walked out the door without saying another word.

Perhaps Sarah was right, I should just tell Jen how I feel. That's what she'd want after all. Maybe opening up my feelings to her will help her open up to me more, and then we can... oh I don't know... who was I kidding? Still, I had to try.

I walk to the branford house, contemplating whether or not to call my little friend, or let her find me instead. After all, I was pretty easy to find from her perspective.

Still, I didn't see her anywhere, and this got me worried. It was just an ordinary thursday, I wonder where she could be. What if she got locked in the basement or something? I decide at last that I should call her. I quickly dial her number, and after a couple rings, she picks up.

"Hello?" Jen said.

"Hey, Jen!" I said, trying to hide the panic in my voice "Uh, what's up? Where you at?"

"I am...down by the water" Jen said, much more calmly than I had been speaking.

"Down by the water?" I asked, "I'll be right down there"

"Okay, I'm sitting by the stone bench" she replied, and I quickly hustled over there.
Sure enough she was lying under the bench, laying down in the grass, and looking out at the massive sea before us.

"Hey" I said, kneeling down next to her.

"Hey" she said, slowly getting up and she walked into my hand that I had set down for her. I pick her up and we sit on top of the bench now, so she can get a better view of things. "What's up?"

"Oh, y'know..." I sighed, feeling panicked now, "just stuff... why'd you come down here by yourself? I could've helped you out"

"I don't always need help y'know" Jen said, brushing herself off from laying in the grass, "I like taking long walks now and then"

"Ah, yes" I said, not knowing exactly what to add to that, "long walks... they're nice"

"Yeah... yeah they are" Jen said, and then looked up at me curiously, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said, "I just got class in a little while, and I thought I'd see how you were doing, I missed you, yknow"

"Well, I missed you too" Jen said, and I returned the smile that she gave me, "but I figured you had class, so I didn't want to bother you"

"You never bother me, Jen" I said, "in fact I... well... yeah..."

"You, well yeah?" Jen asked, with a look of confusion.

"It's nothing" I sighed, "just getting tongue tied"

"Okay..." Jen said, and even though she didn't seem too displeased, I felt like this conversation was not going so well.

"Um, well I gotta go, for now" I said, looking down at my watch in frustration. I don't know where the time went anymore. "You want me to walk you back to the Branford house?"

"Uh, no, that's okay" Jen said, "I'm just going to look at the ocean some more, just leave me under the bench"

"Okay" I said, and set her down, "I will see you later"

"Yeah you will" she said, with a wink, and I walked away feeling more confused than ever. Jen hadn't done anything wrong, but I felt so weird around her now. Maybe I wasn't in love with her... who knows anymore?

Just then I notice Sarah who walks up to me with a puzzled look on her face.

"Uh hi, Sarah" I said, nervously.

"Where'd you go?" she asked.

Without thinking I said, "I took your advice... well I tried to, y'know with the girl I liked"

"But there's noone there" Sarah said, pointing down by the sea where I had been. Of course she couldn't see Jen laying in the grass from where she was standing. "I just watched you talk to noone"

"Uh... did I now?" I asked, feeling nervous that she might somehow stumble upon Jen's existence. "Well yeah, I was talking to noone, see I was rehearsing... because I was nervous"

"That's not healthy" Sarah said.

"Yeah, tell me about it" I sighed.

"You need to just go up to her and tell her how you feel" Sarah said.

"Thanks, I'll try to remember that"I said, and slunk off to class.

I won't bore you any further with the details of my "in-class" exploits. Basically just know that I spent a lot of time thinking about Jen and my strange but real feelings for her, before I headed off to work. A lot of my day becomes a blur from there.

"Bobby!!" I heard a shrill female voice scream. It was then I realize it was the voice of my boss Kathy. "Bobby, I've called you to furniture like 8 times!"

"Oh." I said, feeling indifferent to her pleas, as I stood on top of the silver ladder. "Well uh... sorry"

"Just go!!" she said, and I hurried down the ladder towards an elderly couple looking to buy a chair.

"Which one of these is good for lumbar support?" the old lady asked me, showing me a few of our chairs.

"Well uh... this one is okay" I said, not really knowing what I was talking about. "It's uh... got good height adjustment"

"They all have height adjustment" the old man with her said, "we want lumbar support"

"Oh, right... support... for the lumbar" I said, and browsed some more chairs. I only knew anything about them, by reading the information sheets on them, something that anyone could do. I could tell the older couple was getting impatient as I tediously read all the information sheets on the chairs, before finally finding a chair with lumbar support. "Here's one"

"That chair's leather!" the old man said. I gave him a vacant stare back, having no idea what the problem with leather was. "We have dogs... they chew leather"

"OH JUST FORGET IT!" the old lady sighed and started to walk away with her husband "this guy obviously has no idea what he's talking about"

"Have a nice day!" I shouted after them, but they just walked out the door. I hoped Kathy hadn't seen that.

Thank the lord my shift ended when it did. It was 9 o clock, when I was allowed the honor of escaping the hellhole I called a job, even though I had already torn off my red shirt of oppression at 8:50, not being able to take it any further.

I got into my car, and put some music on at a low volume. I needed to relax. I always liked the feeling of just getting out of work. It made me see the best of life. It made me think, for a few brief minutes before I got home, that if I could handle those hours at work, I could handle other things too, and maybe I wasn't so inadequate. It also helped me because I could think about the mistakes I had made at work that day and how I could not make them later... if I felt like it of course. I was better at my job than I let on, but I never got a raise, even if I sold everything in the store, so why bother?

Of course over time, my focus shifted on Jen, and how possibly I could ask her out. I mean, she seemed impressed with me for some reason, either because she could trust me, or she thought it was adorable how hard I tried... I don't know. But then again, she might've just thought of me as a friend.

How would I even go out with her? I'd be too afraid of other people crushing her. I could never introduce her to my parents... I could only imagine what they'd say. I couldn't even tell my friends about her, and if I did go out with her, there'd still be so much I would be wondering.

I couldn't tell if Jen was happy with her life. She seemed like a pretty calm person about a lot of stuff but there had been times when she would get unsettled by something or another. It seemed to me she had a dark past. But that was okay, I could help her through it... I could take care of her... I could...

Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I couldn't even do a 3 page paper... I couldn't even deal with my prior relationship which ended in a torrent of hell. What if the same thing happened with Jen? What if we got into a fight and I did something horrible to her by mistake? She was so fragile... and I was so irresponsible in general... how could I be trusted to care for another human being? Especially one so small... but still I had cared for her, I was always gentle, never harsh and never forced her into anything. She was willing to let me hold her... but would she be willing to let me love her?

I then realized that I wasn't emotionally stable enough to drive, as I had been swerving a little bit. I pull off the main road and bury my head in the steering wheel, quietly sobbing to myself.

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287


Chapter 6: Opportunity knocks


I met Jen at our usual place, down at the Branford House entrance in the morning, but something felt off. She didn't seem entirely happy to see me. Perhaps she, like me, just had a lot on her mind.

"So..." she said,walking up to me fairly shyly, "you said you wanted to meet me here?"

"Yeah, there's something I really wanted to tell you..." I said, feeling the nerves bubble up inside me at this point.

"Really?" Jen asked, "well there's something I need to tell you too"

"Oh? Uh, you go first" I said, wondering exactly what this news could be.

"Well, I have a boyfriend" Jen said, and I suddenly felt myself crash inside.

"You... you what?" I asked, making sure I had heard her right. I felt like my heart had sucked itself up, and as if I was empty. I had only met Jen not even a week ago and the thought of being anything more than friends with her was surely absurd, and yet... just hearing this news provoked some horrible feelings, like slime covering my insides. But sure enough, Jen would confirm my fears.

"Yeah, his name is Steve" Jen said, and she could tell by my body language that this was bothering me. "Uh... you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said, and sat down next to Jen, "just a little woozy I guess...uh...yeah..."

I then went into a short fit of nervous laughter before prompting Jen to describe her boyfriend but I could barely hear what she said. The sounds and sights around me were faded, which was unfortunate because I almost missed the sound of John coming our way.

"Hey Bobby!" John said, raising his voice, as if he had tried calling me before, and I hadn't answered.

Still in a daze, I go "huh, what's up?" but perhaps I should've said more because John clumsily stumbles my way, trying to get a closer look of what's going on. By the time I realize I need to shield Jen from his sight I'm too late, but things get even worse.

"Hey, what's that bug down there?" John asked, in an inquisitive voice, but doesn't take long before he slams his foot down on the ground, smashing Jen into a million pieces.

"John, NOOO!" I shouted, finally snapping to, but way too late. He had crushed her... right in front of me. I could've stopped him, but I hadn't... what had I done? How could this have happened...?

My head began to spin in a torrent of unspeakable pain as the few memories of Jen I had all came rushingto my head. I couldn't believe how fast she was gone... and...

"Bobby!!" I heard a gruff male voice proclaim. I suddenly snap to my senses and realize I'm in bed, and nearly drenched in sweat under my covers. "Bobby, did you forget?"

"Forget?" I asked, only able to use single words at this point. I look around, and up at my dad who was calling my name. I was in my bedroom, nowhere near Avery Point, but was Jen still alive? What happened? It was just a dream... but so realistic... oh my god. Whatever my dad meant by "forgetting" I had definitely forgotten.

"Your mother and I are leaving for a week, starting tonight" my dad said, urging me to get up, because I was already running late, "we left you a list of things to maintain while we're gone and left you a little money for food"

"Oh right, your vacation" I said, getting up slowly, making sure I was really awake and everything that had happened before was simply in my head. "I'll take good care of the house while you're gone, don't you worry"

"I'm sure you will" my dad said, "you've just seemed a little out of it lately... is everything okay?"

"Everything? Everything's fine" I said, when in actuality, nothing could be further from the truth. "I'm just a little tired"

"Well besides that," my dad said, "besides the tired thing, you've seemed out of it, you've barely been eating and your mother and I have noticed you aren't as active as you used to be"

"I'm fine" I said.

"Is it a girl?" my dad asked.

How does everyone know me this well? I thought to myself, but I masked my feelings by simply denying any affiliation with Jen, not that I was in love with her or anything... oh who am I kidding? That charade is over, I was obviously feeling something for her, if not love.

I jump into the shower, already running late for seeing Jen -- I mean class... I was going to class, of course. At that point I was so worried, so freaked, I had no idea what to do. It was feelings like these that always made me think the impending day would suck, and this was classic me, freaking out about stuff no more than 10 minutes after I woke up.

After my shower, I'm hasty to get into my car and take off as fast as I can. A car ride usually gave me some soothing feelings and I'd have plenty of time to reflect on everything that's been happening. I couldn't really blame Jen for my negative feelings right now, because she was the only positive thing to happen to me in... well, a while. My life used to be so boring, so devoid of purpose. Sure, I went to work and did things with people, but why? What was the reason, and why was it that no matter how many things I accomplished, I felt the same as if I had done nothing? With Jen, it was different though, just seeing her gave me a sense of pride, that I had accomplished something, and learning more about her gave me greater pleasure than any job well done.

But as Jen said before, was I only intrigued with her being because of her unique situation or was it the person herself? If I had met Jen and she was my height, would I be as intrigued? Jen was a pretty girl, with a lot of great personality but I've met countless girls like that before and said nothing to them, never to see them again. Jen was special, but was it because of her size or because of some intangible factor? It was really her size that brought us together, albeit unintentionally. If she was normal size walking around campus, we would've simply crossed paths and kept going, like anyone else, but perhaps I was destined to meet her, and perhaps besides our obvious differences there's something common between us that was the reason why we were meant to be together.

I think of all these things as my horrible dream still plays over in my head, making me think awful thoughts as I drive to school. It must've been scary to be Jen's size, I don't care what she said. At any instant, her life could be over, and no matter who's fault it'd be, that was just a hard thought to fathom. Still, the other part of the dream bothered me as well... what if Jen had a boyfriend, or found one? She mentioned having an ex-boyfriend, so she had dabbled in the art of romance and was probably more effective at it than I was. Of course, if there were guys her size to date, why would she go out with me, someone who was big enough to crush her unintentionally.

It was amazing how fast time flew when one ponders these things, because I had already reached my destination, as I wondered whether or not 'Steve' was a real person. I stepped out of my car, and almost instantly remembered all the reasons why I loved Avery Point and it was because of days like this one. The air was perfect and smelled of dew, and the deep greens of the grassy field contrasted the blue sky in a perfect manner. In addition to that, the day itself seemed like it could be a great one, only because after my early class, I had nothing else to do. No work, no school, and my parents weren't home so I had no reason to go home alone. That's when a small smirk grew on my face, and I thought "why not spend the whole day with Jen?"

Of course, this was a foolish thought and one that was easier said than done. Jen seemed to like her home in the branford house yard, and I couldn't expect her to spend ALL her time with me, even though she had spent a lot of it. I take out my cell phone and ponder calling her, before I remember that would be a waste of time, because I had class in only 10 minutes. I had dwindled away so much time thinking about all these issues in my head that I hadn't planned ahead, and found myself in a rush to the third floor of the academic center for my anthropology class.

Anthropology... well there's no nice way to say it, I don't think I'd ever be interesting in it, even if I wasn't in love with anyone 3 inches tall. It was one of my most boring classes, if not the most boring class I've ever taken at Avery Point. It was all about the culture of the native american people, and I'm not going to say I hate native americans, because I don't, but I will say that I don't feel like hearing about what they wore, what they did, how they ate... wait... how they ate...

How did Jen eat? I mean, it was a real concern, now that I though about it... I suppose there were scraps here and there I suppose, but how could she live off that?

After my class, I decide to head right towards... well, you know at this point. I had so many questions to ask her this time, although I wondered if that would bother her. I suppose the best thing to do would be to just relax and talk to her, and see what happens from there.

I walk up the steps to the branford house backyard and look around. It was serenely quiet for a change, as there were no sprinters outside, nor anyone admiring the worksmanship of the statues. It was a Friday afternoon, and so almost noone was on campus, except for those unlucky enough to get saddled with friday classes. Of course, at this point I felt very lucky.

I was pacing the branford house outskirts when I suddenly received a call. I open up my phone and see it's... well, who else, Jen, so I hastily pick it up.

"Hey" she says, "you're really bad at this"

"Bad at what?" I asked.

"Finding me" she said, while holding in a laugh.

I looked around my immediate area, puzzled.

"Uh, where are you?" I asked.

"Try looking down" she said, and at this point I could hear her actual voice in addition to her phone voice. I looked straight down and saw her standing at my feet, leaning against the foot high step that was next to her. She looked so cute. "See me now?"

"Yeah" I said, taking a moment to look at her. She had such a great dignity about her, like she didn't even care what size she was, she was going to be her own awesome person, and it worked, on so many levels. "I see you just fine"

"So... what's up?" Jen asked, "I feel like we haven't seen each other much recently... and by recently I mean like in a day or two"

"I know, I'm so sorry" I said, and knelt down so I could see her better. When I knelt down, she walked a bit closer, enforcing the fact that she had a lot of trust in me. "I've just been so busy at work and everything and..."

"Hey it's cool" Jen said, not wanting me to feel bad about it apparently, "I was just wondering where my adventuring friend was"

"Heh, y'know..." I said, feeling kind of abashed all of a sudden, "...I'm right here"

"So..." Jen said, breaking the silence as usual, "what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?" I said slowly, repeating her question. "What do I want to do..."

"Yeah... that's generally the question" Jen said, holding off another, more obvious laugh.

God, there were so many things I'd like to do... but to pick just one, with one of the most fantastic people I had ever met was a very hard task to do, but I decided to ask her out on a date...okay not really, but in my head it was.

"Hey, we could go to burger king" I said, as the idea had just popped into my head.

"Hmm, that sounds interesting" Jen said, "I don't get to eat much out here, yknow"

"I figured... yknow... not because you're small, just because"

"Bobby, calm down" Jen said, keeping the mood lighthearted, "c'mon, let's just go to Burger King, I haven't been in ages"

"You've been there before?" I asked.

"Yeah, y'know, here and there" Jen said, kind of covering her voice up a little bit."But that's not important... let's just go"

"You got it, Jen" I said, and gently picked her up, making sure to be extra careful after that horrific nightmare. "I do have one more question for you..."

"What's that?" Jen asked.

"Do you know anyone named Steve?" I asked.

"What?"

"Never mind" I said, taking her to my car.

My car was a 2005 silver pontiac grand am, and was actually something I was very fond of. Jen seemed to enjoy it as well, nodding her head in approval as she said, "nice car, bobby"

"Oh thanks, just a little something I got" I said, "actually Im still making payments on it"

I opened the door and set Jen down on top of my cup-holder.

"Hopefully, the ride is comfy from there" I said, strapping myself in and checking for my key, before finally pulling it out from my overcrowded pants pocket.

"It's fine, Bobby" Jen said, leaning against my radio, before accidentally turning it on with her back. She kind of yelped and I laughed.

"Real nice, Jen" I said, and turned the radio down. Jen chuckled nervously, but I insisted she not worry about it as we drove.

"This is a real nice part of town," Jen said, as we drove the countryside of Groton, a route I always took enroute to Burger King.

"Oh this?" I said casually, "This is just how I navigate, I like to take the path less traveled"

"I hear it's a nicer path" Jen said with a smile, as she craned her neck up to see out the window as best she could.

"So how are you hanging in there, Jen?" I asked, still worried as usual.

"I'm fine" Jen said, and again, I noticed a touch of that remorse of her face, a sort of break in her usual confidence.

"Are you sure?" I asked, slowing down a bit as we reached the entrance to Burger King.

"Yeah, I'm...I'm fine" Jen said, as if something had stopped her from speaking the truth, a force stronger than both of us, it seemed. Someday maybe I'd find out what had her so down, when she was otherwise contented.

Either way, for now, the important thing was to enjoy more one-on-one time, and make the most of this rare opportunity.

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 7: My lunch with Jen

"So..." I said to Jen, after a few moments of silence had passed, "you like Burger King, right?"

"Oh of course" she said, her eyes kind of lighting up as she spoke, "I love burger king, and I really love getting away from Avery Point for a change"

"Really?" I asked, "but Avery Point is really cool"

"It is" Jen admitted, "but not when you're living there, day in and day out... it's really nice though, the beauty of it all, but I'd really like to get out there sometimes, y'know..."

"I understand" I said, as the traffic in front of us fell into a temporary bottleneck, "This might take longer than I thought"

"That's okay" Jen said, taking the time to look over my car from top to bottom, her eyes going all over the place. In theory I should've been paying attention to the road, but I couldn't stop glancing down at her. I'm just glad she didn't notice how much I was looking at her, sitting there in my cup holder, her hands occasionally gripping the edges so she wouldn't fall out. "I enjoy the ride"

"Oh, I love car rides" I said, "It's not the destination, it's the journey, y'know"

"Yeah..." Jen said, looking down all of a sudden with a pensive look on her face, as if what I had said had sparked any profound thoughts. "You're right"

I decided not to ask her what was wrong this time. Maybe if I backed off, she'd tell me more about her personal life, but as it was, that was none of my business anyway.

"So..." Jen said, once the car started moving again, following our traffic tie-up, "how are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" I asked.

"well, Bobby..." Jen said, with a smile, "I doubt you've ever had lunch with a girl the size of your hand before"

"Actually I've barely had lunch with a GIRL!" I said, chuckling nervously. It was a lame joke, but Jen kind of laughed.

"Anyway..." Jen said, looking up at me the whole time, while I tried to focus simulatneously on her and my driving, "how are we going to eat together when... well, y'know..."

"What?" I asked, confused. Maybe it was just the way the light was hitting her, making her hair and eyes kind of glow, but for some reason I didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"Bobby... I don't want people to see me..." Jen sighed, sounding both frustrated that I hadn't gotten it, and ashamed at the same time. I silently sigh to myself as she says that, "you just have to hide me, that's all"

"Okay, okay" I said, "I will"

Jen smiled, and tried to keep the good mood up, but before she did that, I wanted to say one more thing, which I did,

"...but Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you're way too beautiful to hide"

I don't know why I said it, but I did, I felt like I had to, and I meant it. No matter what size she was, she was beautiful, even though I could understand her fear of being exposed to others.

"Aw, Bobby..." Jen sighed, and gave off a smile while kinda chuckling. I couldn't tell if I had just flattered her that much, or if she was laughing to herself because of my line, "...that was sickeningly sweet"

"I know..." I said, once again feeling that strange warm feeling rush to my head. Finally, I pulled into Burger King and tried to return to my normal mode, or as normal of a mode that I have. "Well, here we are"

"That we are" Jen said, and stood herself up from my cup holder. I put my hand just under her and she stepped onto it, showing great poise in how she did it without slipping, and still managed to stand upright even when I lifted her slightly.

"So you don't mind if I slip you in my pocket for now?" I asked.

"No, just be careful" Jen said, looking down at my pocket, "And don't cram me in with an ipod, please... I like music as much as the next girl, but y'know, not like that"

"Understood" I said, using my free hand to yank my iPod out of the pocket. I stepped out of my car, being careful to hold Jen who had gone into a crouching position to avoid falling. When I was fully out of the car, I slipped her into my pants pocket as well as I could. I started to walk towards the entrance, when I remembered one more thing to ask her, "hey jen"

"Yeah?" she said, sounding kind of muffled to me.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked.

"Well seeing as how the food is the size of my entire body, a fry or 2 ought to do it, and maybe a piece of double cheeseburger" Jen said. "I gotta watch my figure y'know"

"You don't have to watch your figure" I said, smiling slyly, "You should let me watch it for you"

"Wow... how long have you been waiting to use THAT line?" Jen asked.

"Uh, about 2 months..." I sighed with defeat, "but hey you should feel honored you're the only one I've used it on"

"Lucky me" Jen laughed, as I walked into the Burger King for real this time.

I loved the Burger King in groton. Much like my car rides, it was another place I could count on to escape stress throughout the day. This is also where John and I would usually go and bitch about our women troubles. Ironically, I was bringing a woman with me today though.

The whole BK was decorated with a sort of retro 50's theme, with black and white tiling on the walls, as well as old-styled paintings. It was a great style for the venerable restaurant but unfortunately it would most likely not stay. BK has been re-modeling all of their local restaurants to look differently, so I feared the worst for my groton hangout. For now though, this wasn't about Burger King, this was about Jen.

"Hey Bobby" I heard Jen whispering to me, or mumbling rather, through my pocket.

"Yeah?" I whispered back, not wanting to seem too crazy, as I was in line behind a couple of people.

"Get extra napkins" she said.

"Okay... but why?" I asked.

"I'll show you when we get to our table" Jen said.

"You mean we're actually eating here?" I whispered back. Someone turned back to see who I was talking to, so I whipped out my cell phone real quick and pretended to be on it.

"Of course" Jen said, "I want the entire Burger King experience"

"But I thought you didn't want anyone to see you" I said, realizing that my fake cell phone call was working fine, so I didn't have to whisper anymore.

"Don't worry about it, Bobby" Jen said, "I'll be fine, just sit in the corner booth"

"I love the corner booth!" I exclaimed. A few people turned and lookat at me weird as I still held my cell phone. "...uh, y'know... because it's in the corner and a booth"

"Way to go..." Jen said, with a laugh that I could even hear from inside my pocket. Luckily noone else did.

"Eh, it happens" I shrugged, as I stepped up to order my food, after which I attained my cup and took an extra plastic ketchup cup so I could give Jen some. I liked thinking ahead, after all.

"Remember the extra napkins" Jen said, and so I took a few of those as well, and sat down in the corner booth with usual double cheeseburger, large fry and a coke. Yeah, I'm about as predictable as a slice of toast.

Before I fully sit down, I make sure to remove Jen from my pocket and carefully set her down on the table, behind my bag so people passing by can't see her. She stands up and stretches briefly.

"Hopefully I didn't hurt you in there" I said, a bit worried as I sat down in the seat.

"No, I'm fine" Jen said, "although I could use some fries"

"You got it" I said, and tipped over the bag somewhat. She walked inside and pulled out a few fries. I heard her yelp briefly, "those are hot, y'know!"

"Yeah, I caught that" Jen said feebly as she walked out of the bag, holding a smoking fry in her hands. It was one of those short stubby ones, and those are usually the greasiest, and therefore the best. The fry was about half the length of her body and had a small bite missing from it.

"Here, you want some coke?" I said, and emptied out a small portion of my soda into the plastic ketchup cup. I put the bag in front of Jen as she moved over to drink from the plastic cup.

"You're so nice, Bobby" Jen said, after taking a couple sips of coke. She lied down next to the cup and looked up at me as I ate, "I'm so glad you came to school today"

"Really?" I asked, in between bites of my double cheeseburger.

"Yeah, I didn't think you had class today, almost noone does on Fridays" Jen said.

"Yeah, I got saddled with anthropology" I sighed, "it really sucks"

"I'm sorry" Jen said, taking another hearty bite out of her fry.

"It's not your fault... it just seems like I always get... well you don't want to hear me complain..." I sighed. "I'm not very fun sometimes, I know"

"Bobby, can I tell you something?" Jen asked.

"Sure," I answered.

"In all honesty, I was scared to death of you when we first met," Jen said, "but now I realize you're one of the best friends I've ever had"

"Really?" I said, pausing everything I was doing when I heard her say those words.

"Yeah, I mean... I don't know..." Jen sighed, "I guess you don't want to hear ME complain either"

"I don't mind" I said, eager to hear more about her, the person that was Jen.

"Well, people haven't always... well treated me the best..." Jen said, "especially now..."

"What do you mean ESPECIALLY now?" I asked.

"Well just... I don't know recently... people have been really mean to me, let's just say that" Jen said, still eating that same fry she had been working on, while I had eaten half my burger.

"Who was mean to you?" I said, feeling a sudden sense of responsibility, like I should've protected her from any wrongdoing.

"It's nothing" she sighed, "the people who were mean to me mean nothing now"

"I know what you mean" I said, "that girl I used to like, you remember..."

"Kim?"

"Yeah, let's try not to say that name again" I sighed, putting down my burger to talk, "She was a real bitch to me for a while... but for some reason I stayed with her for a while... and decided I had had enough... well not quite..."

"What do you mean?" Jen asked.

"Eh, a bunch of stuff happened... basically I was willing to forgive her at one point," I explained, "but she didn't want my forgiveness, so I gave up caring, and now she wants my forgiveness for this stuff she did..."

"What stuff?"

"Just stupid, stupid stuff" I said, trying to avoid the subject. The only people who knew Kim and I's relationship dynamically were my real close friends and I didn't want to tie Jen up with drama that had been over for months now. "It's really not important"

"It obviously still bothers you" Jen said, not trying to be cynical, but sincere.

"It really doesn't" I said, trying to maintain a sense of maturity and dignity about it, even though part of me was still bothered by Kim. I hated her so much, "but anyway, that's enough of that darkness... how's your week been going? How's stuff?"

"Stuff... is stuff" Jen answered, sounding like she didn't expect to be asked that question. Then again, who does?

"You don't look tired today" I commented.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better" Jen said, and reached into the bag for another fry, this one slightly bigger. "I was actually able to sleep last night"

"Really? Because it was kind of cold out" I said.

"I know..." Jen said, "but I was able to find some warmth under a bush... it was really nice actually... I like being able to observe the little details about life... the stuff that others don't see"

"I bet you do" I said, "I've always been a bit of an explorer myself"

"Yeah but see, I'm not banned from the places I explore" Jen laughed.

"I was only banned from 6 of those places" I said.

"Yeah, suuure you were" Jen said, and then asked me, "do you think I could have just a small piece of your burger?"

"Sure" I said, and tore off a small piece of beef that was about the size of her head. She thanked me and quickly took a bite. "Is it good?"

"Very" Jen said, "Thanks again"

"Anything for you, Jen" I said.

I was shocked at how noone had noticed me talking to what appeared from the distance to be a mere BK bag, but maybe they had seen me talking to it and just didn't say anything. They probably all thought I was crazy but I was so sick of worrying about what others thought of me. I only wanted to know what Jen thought of me and she seemed to think I was pretty cool, which was good enough for me.

"So..." I asked Jen, after thinking of something to say, "Did you do anything cool today?"

"I just sat by the water" Jen said, "kinda got a tan"

She showed me the back of her neck and her arms which had gotten a bit tanner. She was usually a bit paler.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked nervously, "and please don't get mad"

"I won't" Jen said, slowly standing up from her laying down position. She walked around a little bit as I spoke to her.

"Why do you want to stay hidden from everyone?" I asked.

"I... I don't know" Jen sighed, "I used to so social but...now...well not so much, it's just..."

"It's just what?" I asked.

"LOOK AT ME!!" Jen shouted, and it was the first time I noticed her really freak out "I'M TINY!! OKAY? I'M TINY, AND TINY PEOPLE DON'T MAKE FRIENDS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE...WELL HUGE... no offense"

"None taken" I said, kind of quietly "I'm sorry...I never wanted to upset you"

"You didn't... I'm sorry" Jen said, and I noticed her wipe a small tear from her eye as she went around the other side of the bag for a second. She came back around so I could see her again and looked a lot more composed, like I was used to seeing, "I'm fine now"

"I really didn't mean to sadden you, Jen" I said, "I..."

Just then, my cell phone vibrated and I had to cut myself off. As Jen continued to wipe her eyes, I picked up my phone and it was John on the other line.

"Hey, man" John said, "it's friday, are we going to the mall?"

"Uh..." I said slowly, looking down at Jen and then back up, before saying "Y'know what? Not tonight"

"Not tonight?" John asked, "what else could you possibly have to do?"

"Just trust me, it's important" I said.

"It's a girl, isnt it?" John asked.

Geez, my friends and family were good. At this rate it was only a matter of time before Jen figured out what was going on.

"No it's not a girl" I said, trying to make sure Jen didn't hear me even though she obviously did. "I just uh... want to be alone tonight"

"To get tea bags?" John asked, cynically.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?" I asked.

"Probably not" John said, then paused before saying "FINE" and hung up.

Jen looked up at me curiously and asked "who was that?"

"Eh, just John" I said, "y'see I usually go to the mall with him on friday nights..."

"The Crystal Mall?" Jen said, showing sudden excitement.

"Yeah, in waterford" I said, "did you want to go?"

"Maybe..." Jen said, with a sly smile on her face this time.

"Well yeah, we can go" I exclaimed, suddenly feeling very excited.

"Okay... hey wait, John's not gonna be there anyway is he?" Jen asked.

"Nah, I doubt it" I said.

"Okay, then let's go!" Jen exclaimed, and I quickly scooped her into my hand.

I thought to myself, as I took her back into my car for a Friday evening mall adventure "this can only end happily"

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 8: Exploration begins

"Ok Jen" I said, strapping myself in, while she got comfortable nestled in my cup holder, "what kinda music do you want to hear?"

"I don't know... what do you got?" Jen asked, as I slowly showed off my blue ipod nano. "Oh, just let me see it"

"Are you sure you can hold it?" I asked, setting it near her.

"Just leave it in the cup holder" she said, and pushed on the buttons with her hands. "Hmm, this song is pretty good"

"I bet it would be" I said, "just hold on one sec, while I back up"

I shifted the car into reverse and took a quick turn out of burger king before inserting my ipod into my fm transmitter and hitting play.

"You should like this one..." Jen said, "if only because of the irony..."

"Irony?" I asked, as the song slowly began to play. I could recognize the tune, but I wasn't quite sure why it was ironic.

"JENNY, JENNY, WHO CAN I TURN TO...?"

"Ah...right..." I sighed, realizing the significance of the ever-popular Tommy Tutone song, "it's funny... because... you're Jenny"

"Yeah, I always used to listen to this song, if only because it had my name in it" Jen said, "how stupid is that?"

"That's not stupid" I said, "wait, how'd you listen to it if you're...well, y'know..."

"Bobby, you assume because I'm small I have no access to technology" Jen said, with a tsk, "I've had an ipod before too"

"Really? Fairies get ipods?" I asked, with a sense of joking childlike wonder in my voice.

"Yes, Bobby, we get ipods, and we turn pumpkins into carriages" Jen laughed.

"That was only in one movie, though" I said, as I navigated the back roads out of groton and headed for the goldstar bridge tha connected Groton to Waterford.

"Yeah... I used to love disney movies too..." Jen said.

"I'm guessing fairies get dvd players too" I said.

"Well technically a vcr, but yeah, same idea" Jen said, blowing some of her hair out of her face as she struggled to find a comfortable position.

"You okay down there?" I asked, when we came to a red light. She was sort of curled up in the corner of the cup holder, with her arms around her knees.

"Yeah I'm fine" Jen said, "it's just so hard to find a good position, like when I try to sleep sometimes, y'know?"

"Yeah I know what you mean" I said, as the light changed to green. I slowly accelerate because I don't want to toss Jen as she's trying to stand up and reposition herself, "I can never find that right sleeping position, heck even when I fall asleep, it's not so much that I wanted to sleep that way but I just give up"

"Yeah you do" Jen said, taking a page from my book. She then looked up at my ipod and tried to reach for it but it was just out of her reach.

"Here" I said, using a free hand to hand the ipod down to her in the cup holder.

"Thanks" she smiled, and looked through the songs. "Yeah... you REALLY got a lot of Maroon 5 on here..."

"Hey, they're a good band" I said, while clicking on my left blinker as I merged onto the busy highway, "you should give them a chance"

"Okay" Jen said, scrolling through my 42 maroon 5 songs, "Maybe I will"

After she had picked something, I reconnected the ipod to my radio and heard "If i never see your face again" playing.

"Oh yeah" I said, "This is one of my favorites"

"Yeah, I just liked the title" Jen shrugged, "it's fairly negative"

"But it's such a great song" I said, resisting the urge to sing along, until I could take more and kind of drifted into the lyrics, "...now you've gone somewhere else far away... I don't know..."

"Wait, are you singing?" Jen laughed.

"Yeah, sorry" I said, trying not to make eye contact with her at this point because through my peripheral vision I could see the confused look on her face as she had been watching me sing.

"No no, it's fine" Jen said, "honestly you were pretty good"

"Well, it's funny you say that" I said, "because while I can sing in general, Maroon 5 is not really my style of singing... at all."

"Very few could pull it off" Jen said.

"Yeah, only Adam" I said, but Jen just looked at me bewildered before I said, "yknow, the lead singer"

"Riiight"

"Anyway, we're almost to the mall" I said, as we got off at exit 82, and I took a left.

"What do you do at the mall anyway?" Jen said, "no offense but you don't strike me as one who goes shopping for all the latest fashions"

"Yeah, I really don't" I admitted. "I don't go to the mall for the usual gimmicks, no I guess you could say... I go to the mall for the simpler things"

"Like what?" Jen asked.

"Well, I could tell you..." I said, "or I could show you"

"I'd much rather you show me then" Jen said, as my Maroon 5 music wound to an end.

It was about 5 o clock now, and the sky was a sort of greyish color. Not quite nighttime but certainly not the day time I was able to recognize so vividly back at Avery Point. I get out of my car and have Jen climb onto my hand. I secure her in my pocket as usual, feeling sort of accustomed to our trends now. It was almost starting to feel natural carrying her around like this.

"So where to first?" Jen asked, burrowed in my pockets again. I was always afraid she might have trouble breathing in there, but hopefully she'd say something if that were the case.

"Well first we trek through JC Penneys, and then I was thinking I could show you around the mall some" I elaborated.

"I'd like that" Jen said and so I walked into Penney's holding the door open for a few people on the way in, as Jen stayed hidden. When there weren't so many people around, I could feel her gripping the edges of my pant pocket, looking out at the world around her. It must've been a strange ride, to see all the giants walking around, with giant merchandise scattered everywhere. Occasionally, she would duck back down from sight to keep hidden. It must've been tough for her, always having to hide.

I walked out of Penney's fairly quickly, bringing us out into the central hub of the mall, before the landscape of stores.

"Wow, this is a nice mall" Jen said.

"You think so?" I asked her, "I mean I obviously think so, but a lot my friends rank on this mall, because it doesn't have 3 floors and amazing visuals"

"Nah, I like it" Jen said, "besides this would be your kind of mall, mr. simple things"

"Hey, I like what I like" I said.

"Calm down, I meant it as a compliment" Jen said. "So show me more of the mall"

"Alrighty" I said, "hang on for this ride"

I then stepped onto an up escalator and let Jen enjoy the slight ascent upwards to the second floor. From there, I walked to the center of the mall, from which was hanging a luxurious crystal chandelier, to fit the namesake of the mall.

"Yeah, I really like this chandelier" I said, "it just works"

"Yeah it does" Jen said, and then said to me "hey is there anywhere quieter we can go?"

"Yeah I know of a place, why?" I asked.

"Well no offense, but it's hard to enjoy this from inside your pocket all the time" Jen said.

"Oh right, sorry" I said.

"It's fine" Jen said, "so where are we going?"

"Downstairs" I said, "I think you'll like this, or at least, I hope you do"

"Geez, you're always so unsure of yourself" Jen said, as I walked across the wonderful looking mall with people at every corner and steel beams hanging from the ceilings. Even from my point of view, I considered it massive, even if it was one of the smallest malls in the world.

I got back on the escalator and headed to Macy's with Jen in tow, cutting through the downstairs entrance, past all the kitchen applicances and bathroom towels.

"What are we doing here?" Jen asked, looking up at me with a puzzled look. Hanging out with me as much as she had so far made me wonder why I didn't see more puzzled looks.

"You'll see" I said, and took my final corner towards my destination, which was the decently sized furniture department. It was just what I needed right now, and just what Jen needed too, a cool place to relax with almost no peope around. In fact, on this night, there were no people, not even the occasional Macy's employee.

"Ooh giant furniture" Jen exclaimed, "looks fun"

"I enjoy coming here to think, plus now..." I said, slowly taking Jen out of my pocket, "you can get some relatively fresh air"

"Thanks" Jen said as I cradled her in my hand, until we sat down on a mattress in the corner of the furniture department. I set her down on the mattress and chuckled when she tried to stand up straight, but the lumps on the bed caused her to stumble and fall on her stomach. She got back up with a 'why me' look on her face.

"Yeah, this is a pretty quiet place, as far as the crystal mall goes..." I said to her, "I used to have one other place that was pretty quiet..."

"Really? What was it?" Jen asked.

"Eh, I don't like to talk about it..." I said, trying to end the conversation there, but Jen looked up at me with a puppy dog pout so I continued talking, "it was called 'secret chair room'... okay not really, but I called it that, it was just a place in tweeter's etc that I would sit down and think, kind of like this but darker and more secluded"

"Seclusion is nice..." Jen said, with a sigh of pleasantry this time, "dont you think?"

"Yeah, most of the time" I said, "but sometimes I wonder what would happen for me if I actually came out of my shell once and a while, instead of always seeking the shelter of hiding"

"I don't know Bobby" Jen said, "being super social can be a bit... not good"

"What do you mean?" I asked, kinda curious to learn more about Jen's background and her views on life.

"I don't know..." Jen said, looking down at the mattress as she spoke, "being social never leads to anything good...at least...not in my case"

I looked down at her with a frown, but again, she regained her composure and looked at me with a playful smile. She said, "hey, how about we play a game?"

"What kind of game?" I asked.

"Well, this place is like a playground to me, and it's really quiet..." Jen said, pondering as she looked around to make sure there were still no people wandering the area, "how about we play hide and seek?"

"Are you sure?" I asked, "I mean, I wouldn't want to lose you"

"You won't lose me, Bobby" Jen said, smiling, "I promise."

She seemed eager to do something besides sit, because she stood up again and navigated the curves of the mattress towards the edge. I stood up and used my hand as a walkway for her to get off the mattress and she pointed to another section of furniture, where several couches were congregated together.

"Okay, over there" she said, and I slowly walked with her in my hand, "just put me down and I'll run and hide... count to ten and try to find me"

"This doesn't seem quite fair" I said, "Seeing as how you can navigate smaller areas than I can and how am I supposed to catch you without hurting you?"

"If you're skilled enough to find me..." Jen said with a wink, "we'll just say you win, but I doubt that'll happen"

"Oh is that so?" I said, with a sly smile and I put her down on the green carpet. "You have til the count of 10"

Jen scampered away, and as I watched her tiny form fade between the recliners and couches, I began to think to myself how bad of an idea this was. I decide to count to 10 really fast.

"Okay Jen, here I come" I exclaimed and started walking carefully over to the chair section, when I heard a jolt... someone's voice.

"Who's Jen?"

I turned around and saw Sarah, my eyes wide with panic. I was a terrible liar, at best.

"Uh, Jen? What are you talking about, there's no Jen..."

"You said, 'Jen' here I come" Sarah said, with a strong look of skepticism on her face. She had already suspected something from the incident the other day at Avery Point, and now this. I was horrible at keeping secrets and Jen could pop up anywhere now.

"Oh, that's... that's just something I say..." I sighed, "I'm weird, you know that, Sarah... so what are you doing here anyway?"

"I was just here to do some shopping with my mom when I saw you here, so I thought I'd say hi" Sarah said, "is John here?"

"I haven't seen him" I said.

"You mean you came here alone?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, thought I'd mix it up" I said.

"Oh, well maybe I'll call John then, I kinda want someone to hang out with while I'm here" Sarah said.

"NO!" I exclaimed, "I mean, no... you don't want to heh, bother John... he's so busy... he..."

"He's probably playing UNO in his room right now"Sarah said with a smirk, and went into the corner to call John on her cell phone. Damn John and his UNO!

I walk away from Sarah while she calls and walk around furniture, trying to find Jen. Sarah seems to have dissapeared for the moment, but I can't risk her coming back and finding Jen on the ground somewhere.

"JEN!!" I say, in my loudest whisper, "come out, please!"

"You gotta find me first!" I hear a meek voice say, but I don't know where it's coming from. Ugh, Jen, this was no time for games.

"JEN, IM SERIOUS!" I said, and paced the furniture feverishly, trying to find her. I checked under couches and chairs, but saw nothing. "IF I DON'T GET YOU OUT OF HERE WE..."

"Hey" Sarah said, "wanna get a bite to eat?"

I paused in my tracks and turned back to Sarah, "uh, not right now"

"What's wrong with you anyway?" Sarah asked, and started walking over but I suddenly panicked again.

"WATCH WHERE YOU STEP!" I yelled.

"What?"

"Watch... where you step... y'know...the floors... are sticky" I said, trying desperately to save myself, but I was a god awful liar.

"Riiight, I'll keep that in mind" Sarah said, and then yanked on my arm playfully, "come on, let's get you out of here, I think the scent of plywood is driving you insane!"

"No!" I yelled, as she was forcing me to take a walk with her. I had to do something...

As Sarah tries to initiate a conversation with me, I think to myself "Where ARE you, Jen?"

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 9: Lost and found


As Sarah pulled me away from that area at Macy's, I had so many thoughts racing through my head. Her feeble words tried to pierce the barrier formed tightly in my mind, but they were of no use. In my own subconscious I was swimming in uncontrollable fear and doubt, anxiety and stress. I wanted to just run back and find Jen. I didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

"BOBBY!!" Sarah shouted and finally I came to, noticing she had been walking me through the kitchen department of Macy's, forcing us towards the exit. I had to think fast and come up with an excuse to go back to furniture.

"Uh, I left my wallet... in furniture" I said, and started strolling back, but stopped myself when I saw Sarah giving me a skeptical look. I turned back and said "what?"

"You're a god awful liar" Sarah said, with a smirk and then walked beside me "but y'know what, I'll play along... let's go to furniture"

And so, Sarah and I started walking towards furniture, but of course I would have to find a way to ditch her, if only for a few minutes so I could find Jen.

Unfortunately, I didn't even get a chance to get back to furniture before John bumped into us, and that's when I remember Sarah had called him to show up and meet us there.

"JOHN!!" Sarah exclaimed and ran up to hug him. I shuddered to see the look on his face when he saw me, as he thought I was just staying home tonight.

"So..." John said, with the usual smug look he got on his face when he was right about something, "I knew you'd be here"

"I suppose" I said, "now c'mon I have to go back to furniture to get my wallet"

"Your wallet's right there!" John laughed, pointing at the bulge in my left pocket. "You can always tell where your wallet is because it's so overloaded with pocket change"

"I suppose" I sighed.

"C'MOOON!" Sarah said, pulling John's arm and motioning for me to come along, "We've been in Macy's long enough, let's go eat or something"

"But weren't you here with your mom?" I asked Sarah.

"Yeah, but she doesn't mind if I hang out with you guys for a while" Sarah said, smiling and pulled John and I off reluctantly.

Oohhh poor Jen, I thought to myself as we headed back towards the exit of Macy's, where the bathroom towels were. Just then I felt a familiar rumble -- my cell phone vibrating. I look at the caller ID real quick to see it's Jen.

"Ugh, that's not Kim again, is it?" John asked, noticing I was looking at my cell phone.

"Uh, no, it's just a friend of mine, I'll be right back" I said, and paced away from them long enough to talk to her.

"Bobby, where are you?" Jen asked, in a semi-frantic voice, "you could've at least said you gave up, that's how hide and seek works, yknow"

"I know, I'm sorry" I said, under my breath "I could easily find you now, but it would involve exposing you to my friends"

"NO!" she shouted, and I had to back away from the phone for a second "Ok, we'll figure something out"

"Figure what out? I'm screwed" I asked, and just then, I heard John say "it's time to go"

"You guys go ahead, I'll meet you somewhere" I said to John and Sarah.

"Ah no you don't" John said, and shut my phone.

"Hey!" I gasped, having hung up on Jen. This was definitely not good. Not good at all. In fact this is what could be classified as the opposite of good.

"C'mon Bobby" Sarah said, and of course, we ended up retreating into the mall now.

Jen had sent me a text message while we were walking asking which way we were heading, but there was no way I could make Jen walk all that way to find us. She might seriously get hurt. I told her we were heading into the mall but that I would find a way to find her.

"Hey, let's go in the disney store!" Sarah said, having already pulled us a great deal away from my destination that was the furniture department. I cringe as we walk even further away, and vowed to myself to find Jen no matter what.

"If it's any consolation to you..." John said, as Sarah was checking out a pile of Mickey Mouse stuffed animals, "I'm not a fan of this store either"

"Indeed" I sighed. I had to think of something and I had to think of it now, before it was too late. Jen probably hated me by now. I had left her all alone in Macy's... well no longer. I would think of a way to go to furniture now. And then I thought of it, an easy lie, an obvious way out. "I uh have to go to the bathroom"

John was about to make a comment about it but I didn't give him any time. I had already paced my way out of the disney store in a hurry and found myself running through the mall --literally running.

I zig-zagged through the crowd, causing a few gasps from some, but most were unaffected as I flew through the mall, with no intention to ever return to the disney store. After all, Jen was more important.

I rush into the entrance of Macy's and take out my cell phone, when I'm sure that noone's looking, and dial Jen's number.

"Jen!" I said, with a hushed shout, "are you still in furniture?"

"I'm actually in carpeting now, it's kind of fun" Jen said.

"I'll be right there" I replied and quickly walked over to the quiet area where the massive area rugs were. There were carpets hanging from the walls and piles of circular, smaller rugs on the floor, like islands. I look around for Jen, before I hear her tiny screams. I sigh with relief and get down low enough to see her better.

"Oh thank god you're okay" I said, but Jen seemed calmer about it than I expected.

"Yeah I'm fine" Jen said, "I'll admit I was a little freaked at first but once I found out you were with friends, I understood"

"I know, but I'm so sorry I left you here, it won't happen again, I promise" I said, and was about to pick her up but she walked away from my hand a bit. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to leave just yet, I want to stay here... on this carpet" Jen said, and so I sat down next to her on the carpet. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah you are --I mean, yes it is" I said, nervously chuckling. Part of me meant to say that, of course.

"I mean it though" Jen said, "these carpets are really nice, especially when you're more close up to them"

Jen started walking on one of the really long stretching carpets with patterns resembling red ribbons streaked down them. She looked like a little kid, filled with excitement on Christmas morning as she explored this row of carpeting.

"I've really come to appreciate more..." Jen said, with a bit of a hushed tone, "ever since..."

"Ever since what?" I said, seemingly breaking her train of thought at that point.

"Huh? Nothing" Jen said, "I just... I really like these carpets"

"Yeah, they're nice... but..." I began but then my fears were confirmed. John and Sarah had followed me back here. I could hear them talking, so I quickly said, "JEN! Quick, you got to get in my pocket!"

"What? Why?" Jen asked, with dissapointment in her voice. She was really loving these carpets, each one a different landscape for her to explore, but if I didn't hurry, I just might've lost her again.

"My friends are coming, I have to run!" I said, and she reluctantly climbed onto my palm, "Hang on tight, Jen!"

I slowly slipped her into my pocket, making sure she'd be comfortable for what I was about to do next. I take off as fast as possible and think John or Sarah might've caught a glimpse of me, but I don't care.

"We're gonna have to leave the mall..." I sighed, as I exited Macy's with Jen still secured in my pocket. I had to be extremely careful with her in there. I had another human life in my pocket, basically and any false move could spell her doom. I was always conscious of that. "I don't want them finding me and seeing you"

"OK OK" Jen said, sounding a bit frightened now, "let's just go then"

Once I was sure I had lost John and Sarah for good, I began to slow to a more normal pace and headed towards the parking lot.

"Ahh!" Jen shrieked, "your phone is vibrating"

"Oh I'm sorry" I said, switching the pocket that my cell phone was in, "I completely didn't mean to do that to you"

"It's fine" Jen sighed with relief, "I bet that was John though, or Sarah"

"Yeah probably" I sighed sadly and opened the door to my car, flopping inside. This night had been a disaster. I was looking forward to a great time with my new friend but it had to be ruined by my other friends being there. "I'm so sorry Jen"

"About what?" she asked, as I took her out my pocket and let her rest in my hand.

"Just everything" I said, and set her down on the dash board where she looked very comfortable, "I wanted us to have a good time at the mall tonight and..."

"Are you kidding me? That WAS fun!" Jen exclaimed, her eyes lighting up a little.

"Really?" I asked, shocked to see her so pleased with our recent 'adventure'. "But we didn't get to stay so long"

"Eh, whatever, it was still more of an adventure than anything Ive done in a while" Jen said, and when I was ready to start my car again, I lowered her back into my cup holder for protection.

"So, is there anything else you'd like to do?" I said, feeling a dread in my heart that our night of fun was almost over.

"Actually..." Jen said, looking up at me nervously, "I was wondering if possibly... I could sleep over your house?"

"You serious?" I asked, feeling my excitement level reach an all-time high.

"well, there's no need to go ALL the way back to Avery Point at this time," Jen said, "and as long as I'm with you now, and you're closer to home, why not?"

"Yeah, sure... I mean... if you want to" I said, feeling super excited, and a bit frightened at how fast things were going. Heck, I hadn't ever had someone sleep over my house, let alone a girl as pretty as Jen.

"Alright then, c'mon!" Jen said, seemingly excited within the cupholder "let's get this party started!"

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 10: My little sleepover

The drive home was serene, as I cruised along the highway, with only a few headlights zipping by the opposite way. I glanced down at Jen every few seconds, if only to see how she was doing. I couldn't see her as well as I could before, as shadows were descending from my dashboard.

Because we had only stayed at the mall for such a short time, it was only 7 pm, still relatively early, which meant there'd be plenty more to do when we got back to my house... but what? What would we do? I wasn't completely sure but then again, I didn't completely care, as long as I'd be with her.

"Hey Bobby" Jen said, after some time had passed.

"Yeah?"

"Whatcha thinking about?" she asked.

"Ah, just stuff... just general stuff" I said, focusing on the road ahead of us, all the while getting closer to my house. "Anything you're thinking about?"

"No, not in particular" Jen said, "that's why I asked you"

"So you did" I said, and then paused again before saying, "so, I should probably just warn you now... my house is nothing extravagant"

"Yeah, well neither is mine" Jen sighed, with a bit of a laugh in her voice, although it seemed forced, "considering I live in the gutters of the branford house"

"Don't say that" I said, feeling a frown coming on. I hated when Jen got down on herself for things, "the branford house is awesome"

"Yeah, maybe" Jen said, sounding dejected now, "when you're not always sleeping in the garden"

I fumbled for words in my head at that moment, wanting to say something... just the right something to cheer her up, but instead I remained silent like an idiot.

"Well..." I said, through my teeth, "we're almost there..."

"Yeah we are" Jen said. "Did I mention you have a nice car?"

"Aw, thanks, you're too kind" I said, cracking a bit of my smile. I did enjoy my car, after all. "I don't get to have too many people in here"

"Well, it's their loss" she said, and sat back in the cup-holder now, as if she was already familiar with intricasies of it.

I began to slow my car as we turned onto my road, to build up the dramatic tension.

"We're almost there," I said, as all the houses were looking the same in the subdued light. Of course I remembered which one was mine, naturally, and I pulled us up the steep driveway before pushing the button on my console to open the garage door.

"Ooh, automatic" Jen said, watching as the garage door lifted, "fancy stuff"

"Yeah it is" I said, noticing she was having some trouble climbing out of the cup holder, "need some help?"

"No... I'm ugh... fine" Jen said, struggling before she finally pulled herself out from the cup holder and gently laid herself out on my hand. I lifted her slowly and carried her into the house.

I open the door to my basement, gently nudging my orange tabby cat with my foot as he had been trying to get outside again. He shuffles out of my way and quickly scampers up the stairs.

"Was that your cat?" Jen asked, not being able to see too well from her placement.

"Yeah, he's a cool cat" I said, "we call him Petey"

"He's cute" Jen said, as I flicked on the light switch, beholding to her my cozy basement, which featured a couch, an air hockey table, a broken pinball machine and an electric keyboard. "This is a good basement"

"Hope the lighting's not too dim for ya" I said, pointing out the flickering flourescent lights that my dad had put in to save energy, or something like that.

"Bobby, you worry too much" Jen chuckled, "now c'mon show me the upstairs"

"Alright alright" I said, and walked us slowly up the few stairs I had to the living room. The living room had been where I did the majority of my gaming on the HDTV, with my guitar hero accessories strewn on the floor. The room was a sort of mess but most of that was my fault. "Sorry about the mess"

"It's fine" Jen said, in a nonchalant way, and then asked me, "hey could you put me down on the couch right there? It looks really soft"

"Sure" I said, setting her down on my tan leather couch. She let herself kind of sink into the folds of the leather and let out a contented sigh. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself watching her. "Hey I'll get us something to drink, you stay right there"

"Oh yeah, Bobby, because for a second there I was thinking of jumping off this couch on my own" Jen said, obviously sarcastic.

"Okay, okay, Ill be right back..." I said, and walked into the kitchen, before I realized that I might not have had a cup small enough for her, but I tried to find one anyway. I notice an unopened bottle of robitussin in my cabinet and take the small plastic cup off the cap. Perfect.

I'm pouring some pepsi into my cup and hers when I suddenly heard a shriek, followed by some words I could barely make out. I rush into the living room to see my cat had leapt onto the couch and was sniffing and pawing at Jen, causing her to scramble towards the edge of the couch.

"PETEY, NO!" I shouted and quickly pulled him off the couch, giving Jen the chance to regain her footing and avoid falling. "I am SO sorry, Jen, you don't even KNOW!"

"It's... it's fine" Jen said, sounding out of breath and perturbed. Her hair was also a bit miffed looking so she brushed it out with her hands. "Could you please just... I don't know, move the cat? He's friendly and all... just a little too friendly"

"Oh, I understand completely" I said, and brought Petey downstairs, shutting the door on him, "Sorry, Petey, but this is for your own good, and Jen's"

I then walked back upstairs and apologized again. I set my hand at the edge of the couch so Jen could easily climb in and then slowly brought her to rest on my black coffee table in the center of the room, before bringing her in the cup of robitussin.

"You're such a gracious host" Jen said, taking a small sip of pepsi, "you know how to flatter a girl"

"Well thanks," I said, sitting down on the couch near the table as I slowly set down my larger cup next to her. She used it as something to lay against. "and thanks again, for coming over"

"But of course" Jen said, getting herself comfortable against the back of the plastic cup. Unfortunately, she underestimated her own force, and shoved the cup backwards slightly, causing her to fall back in shock. "Whoops, sorry I'm so clumsy"

"Hey it's fine" I said, holding in my ensuing laughter, "I'm a clumsy guy myself"

"So..." Jen said, starting a new topic yet again, "what do you do for fun around here?"

"Oh, not much" I said, referencing the giant piles of game paraphenalia that covered the corner of the room.

"Hey, is that guitar hero?" Jen asked, noticing my X-plorer toppled by my Xbox360.

"Why yes" I said, picking up the guitar so she could see it better. Of course it wasn't a real guitar, and was actually quite beat up from hours of use.

"I love guitar hero" Jen said, "it's so much fun"

"Really?" I said, trying to ask her without sounding too mean, "You uh...play guitar hero?"

"Well I did, I mean I still could" Jen said, correcting herself rather swiftly, "in fact, why dont you get it started?"

"Are you serious?" I asked, and she nodded in agreement, "okay, here I go"

I turn on the Xbox and get us onto the start screen. I had no clue how this was going to work. Jen leaned over the edge of the table, watching me set up the whole system, seemingly enthralled in everything I did.

"Okay, Bobby" she said, after I had gotten us to the song select screen, "set the guitar down on the floor, and put me on it"

"What?" I asked, in confusion, looking at her and then back at the guitar in my hands.

"Just do it, put the guitar down..." she instructed, as I set it down on the floor by the coffee table, "and now put me on top of it"

So I picked her up again and placed her on the plastic neck of the guitar, her feet already stepping on the red and green buttons simultaneously.

"Are you serious?" I asked, starting to realize what she was trying to do, "you're going to play guitar hero with your feet?"

"Yeah," she said, "I just need you to strum"

"This is...interesting" I said, feeling a strange sense of excitement overcome me. For some reason, I thought this was a great idea, but I had no idea how it would work out. I put the difficulty of the game on easy and knelt down on the ground so I could easily press the strum bar when needed.

"Are you ready?" Jen said, doing jumping jacks on the top of the guitar, before stretching a little bit, "this is going to be a workout"

"For you maybe, I'm just strumming..." I said, chuckling.

"Ok, here we go!" Jen said, and tapped the green button 3 consecutive times with her foot. It was almost like playing DDR for her, while I strummed to every button she hit. She then did this really cool thing when she hit the red and green buttons with her left and right feet, and then hit them again, but with opposite feet. I was so busy watching her try to finagle herself onto the buttons, I almost forgot to strum sometimes.

"Wow, go Jen" I said, in a hushed tone, unable to ever imagine seeing this in my life. This 3 inch girl, was jumping from note to note, slamming her foot on each button (as she had to apply some power in order for the game to register her inputs). She was also extremely good at it, although she missed a couple times, and had to hurry at other times, to go from yellow all the way down to green.

Of course, I had picked an easy song for her, but she still looked worn out at the end of it.

"Wow!" Jen said, looking up at the screen at the finish of the song, her hands on her knees as she knelt down, worn out from the running and stomping exercises she had gotten. That also reminded me of how I felt after a game of DDR. "That was nuts!"

"Yeah...yeah it was" I said, not even feeling the reality of the situation anymore, because there was none. I just watched something I thought was only possible in a disney movie, and I felt awesome about it, it was all so surreal. Jen was the perfect combination of sensibility and quirkiness for me. It was just too bad I could never tell her that. "You okay, Jen? Need some water?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" Jen said, "but if it's all the same to you, I need to cool off for a while... so... didn't you have an air hockey table?"

"Oh c'mon, Jen" I said, gently lifting her from the guitar after she had rested for a while, "there's no way I could play you at air hockey... I'd be too afraid of hurting you"

"Then we'll take it slow" Jen said, "pleeease? I want to do something really fun"

"Okay, okay" I said. I simply couldn't refuse her. Not at this point. I take her downstairs to my air hockey table and set her on the corner, just outside of the table itself. I turn on the air and she cautiously puts a foot on the table, and slips a little. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!!" Jen said, lunging forward to keep her balance, as a child would do on rollerskates, their first time. Jen slowly got more poise as she traversed the table and stood in front of the goal opposite of where I was standing.

"I really don't want to hurt you" I said, biting my lip as I put the puck down on the table in front of me.

"Just push it to me, gently" Jen said, "you won't hurt me, I promise"

"Okay, okay" I said, giving the puck a gentle nudge in her direction. She knelt down and caught it, holding onto it for a few seconds before shoving it back at me.

"Okay, that was a good start..." Jen said and starting to glide a bit as she walked back and forth, "now make it a challenge"

"How so?" I asked, holding the puck in my hands.

"Shove it at me, but try to score a goal" she said, "c'mon, show me what you got"

"I don't know..." I said, staring at the puck directly ahead of me and then looking down the table further to where Jen was, appearing to be miles away at this point.

"C'mon Bobby" Jen said, "just have fun with it"

"Ok, here goes nothing" I said, and pushed the puck towards her goal. She leapt in front of it and landed on it, pinning it, but she kept spinning with it. She seemed to enjoy it though, like a child on a carnival ride.

"Not bad," she said, with a certain confidence about her, as if she'd been playing this form of air hockey for years. "But how do you like this?"

Jen then did something I didn't see coming, and it was actually a shot I used to try when I played air hockey more frequently. She banked the puck off 2 walls and it came so fast off the second bounce that it ricocheted into my goal and Jen began cheering before falling on her back and sliding a bit. She laughed and got up, still feeling euphoric from her shot.

"Wow!" I said, as she manually notched the score herself, pushing the peg on her side of the table over to "1"."That was...wow"

"Thank you, thank you very much" Jen said, taking some mocking bows, and then looking back at me, "it's 1-0, love"

"oh it's on" I smiled and shot the puck back at her, maybe with more force than I originally intended but she still made a hell of an effort diving for like a tennis player would. She missed instead and it went straight into her goal. I felt a bit cheap scoring it though because I obviously could put more power on my shots, "I don't have to count that if you don't want me to"

"Oh I want you to" Jen said, smiling as she was getting the hang of "skating" along the table now, letting herself drift back and forth with less slippage than before. "Now c'mon, let's continue"

I shot another puck at her, softer this time, and she ran full board at it, before slipping again and falling on her face a bit, missing the puck completely. The fall looked more painful than it probably was but I was still concerned.

"Are you okay?" I asked, as she picked herself up from the table, the wind blowing her hair in every which direction.

"I'm fine" Jen said, "This is seriously the most fun I've had in a while, playing some air hockey"

"I feel the same way" I said with a warm smile, as I shoved the puck back at her. It wasn't even about winning, it was just the fun of it all, and Jen actually mounted quite a comeback. She ended up winning that game 9-8, but I had fun all the same.

After the air hockey game, we went back upstairs to the TV, of course and I sat down on my dad's giant recliner. I put Jen down on the table next to me.

"Is there anything good on?" Jen asked me.

"The celtics game is on" I said, "that's about it"

"Ooh put it on!" Jen said.

"You're a Celtics fan?" I asked.

"Of course" Jen said, and I was starting to realize that Jen was even more like me than I thought, and I wanted to learn so much more about her. She was so small, but so similar, and knew how to do things that even regular size people couldn't do. Heck, she had a better bank-shot in air hockey than John did! Just who was Jen? I had no idea but I was having a great time figuring it out.

"You want me to make some popcorn?" I asked, as the game was just getting started with the Celtics out to an early 10-5 lead.

"Yeah, sure" Jen said.

And so, I went into my kitchen and prepared some popcorn for my little visitor.

"Hey, I don't have any bowls small enough for ya" I said, "is that going to be a problem?"

"No problem" Jen answered back, "Just bring in the big bowl, I always wanted to swim in popcorn"

"Alrighty then" I shrugged, and took the bowl of popcorn into her. I sat down on the chair and put her down on the arm of the chair. She leaned over to grab a piece of popcorn from the bowl but fell in and laughed.

"Kinda hot, but not too bad in here" she said.

After the Celtics game, it was around midnight, and so we decided it was time for bed, since we were both exhuasted, but her especially.

"And so this is your bedroom" Jen said, as I took her into my downstairs room where I kept my smaller 19" TV on the dresser in front of my bed. Next to my bed was another dresser loaded with crap, although I cleared off the top of it so she could sleep on there. "Not too shabby"

"No, not at all" I said, and set Jen down on my dresser gently. I then took out an eyeglass cleaning cloth I had and set it down. "Your blanket, darling"

"Thanks" Jen said, chuckling and laid herself out on the dresser top, draping the cloth over her body. I turned off the lights and she started to settle into a sleeping position before she rolled over so she was looking straight up at my ceiling.

"Is everything okay, Jen?" I asked, glancing over at the tiny girl on my dresser.

"Yeah, fine" Jen said, sounding lost in her thoughts, "I'm just so glad..."

"Glad about what?" I asked.

"That you treat me like a real person" Jen said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's just that...being this small..." Jen said, "has made me feel like a toy... a novelty... just something for people to look at, or make fun of you"

"Who's made fun of you?" I asked, feeling anger towards these people.

"Noone really" Jen said, "but that's because I hide myself... I don't want to be treated as someone's toy...I'm a human being, yknow?"

"Of course I know" I said.

"Well it doesn't apply to you" Jen said, "you've been great to me, and I owe you a lot, you've made me think of myself as more than a toy..."

"Good, you shouldn't think of yourself that way" I said, with a smile.

"...of course..." I heard Jen say very quietly, "...I still wish I wasn't this small"

"What'd you say?" I asked, not sure if I heard her correctly.

"Nothing..." Jen said, "just talking to myself..."

I frowned to hear this, but decided to move on.

"Hey Bobby?" Jen asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are you happy... with your life?" she asked.

"Hmm, I don't know" I said, feeling suddenly awe-struck by the question. It was much deeper than any other "yes or no" question. "I mean I have some great friends and everything... but..."

"Do you think your friends will be mad at you?" Jen asked, cutting in, "because of the mall thing?"

"I don't know, maybe" I said, "I'm just glad to be here with you... too many nights I'm alone, just wanting to talk to someone"

"Well I'm here for now" Jen said, sitting up so she wasn't in sleep mode anymore, "talk to me"

"Well, I don't know what to say exactly, that's the thing" I said, "I'm so used to not talking to people about things, that I don't have the words"

"Just say anything" Jen said, sounding very curious all of a sudden. "I don't care what it is"

"Well, a lot of my problems, see I don't even know that I have problems" I said, thinking to myself out loud basically. "I feel like everyone's happier than me, but does that make me unhappy or just less happy?"

"It seems you're trying too hard to be like everyone else" Jen said, "one person's happiness isn't nessecarily everyone's happiness"

"You're right, you're right" I said, "so can I ask you one more question?"

"Yeah, sure"

"I'm uh guessing this little 'slumber party' won't have a pillow fight" I joked.

"Ha, you wish, Bobby!" Jen said, cheering up more than before. "I bet this is the first time you've slept with a girl, so to speak"

"Heh, yeah, you could say that" I said, laying down moreso now, and looking in her direction as she lay on my dresser. "But don't worry you can trust me"

"I know" Jen said, smiling "that's what I like about you"

"So," I said, "Do we have any plans for next week?"

"I certainly hope so!" Jen said, with excitement, "especially on Wednesday"

"What's wednesday?" I asked.

"My birthday!!" Jen said.

"Really? Wow, that's awesome!" I said.

"So are you available?" Jen asked.

"Yeah I'm not dating anyone" I said.

"No, silly, I mean are you available on that day?" Jen asked.

"Oh.. oh yeah" I said, realizing my semi-intended error in speech. "I'm available on Wednesday, I don't have work"

"Excellent!" Jen said, and then asked, "When is the next time you work?"

"I work tomorrow actually... tomorrow night" I said, "I'll probably have to take you back to Avery Point in the morning"

"I don't think so!" Jen said, "I want to go to work with you"

"You wanna what?" I asked, in surprise.

"You heard me!"

"But... Jen... you could get hurt, I do a lot of heavy lifting and stuff, I could drop you or something" I said, feeling worried about the prospect of risking her life like that.

"I don't think so" Jen said, "you really don't give me enough credit sometimes, Bobby"

"Okay, okay, but it's going to be mad boring" I warned.

"Fine with me" Jen said, "I could use a little boring after tonight's action"

"Agreed" I said, and then started to feel tired, "but I think I'm going to get some rest"

"Yeah, me too" Jen said, settling down under the covers. "Goodnight Bobby"

"Goodnight Jen" I said, and fell into a comfortable sleeping position. And as I drifted into my sleeping state, I had one thought on my mind...

"what kind of birthday gift could I get a 3 inch tall girl?"

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 11: Hardly just another day


I began to stir, hearing the incessant noise.

"Bobby...c'mon..."

I was still in a half asleep state and didn't know what was going on completely. All I could see was the darkness of my own eyelids enveloping my vision, as I heard the noise again, "Bobby...."

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open and I saw her. Jen had been standing on my bed, literally a few inches from my face, urging me to wake up.

"Woah..." I said, raising myself up slightly, as Jen backed away to give me more room. "How long have I been asleep?"

"It's 11 o clock, sleepyhead" she said, smiling. "I've only been trying to wake you up for half an hour now"

"How'd you get on my bed?" I asked.

"Please, it's only a foot gap between your bed and the dresser" Jen said, when in actuality it was only a couple inch gap, but I guess from her perspective it was a more significant jump, although not by much.

"Well, thanks for going to the trouble of waking me up" I said.

"Well it was either that or play with your cat," Jen said, "and I don't think I'd enjoy doing that again"

"Yeah, I bet you wouldn't" I said, getting myself off the bed. I put my hand down, and Jen jumped on. "So what now?"

"Well, it's a bit late for breakfast" Jen said, looking up at me, "so how about some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me" I said, "I got some pizza bagels in the fridge"

I began to tote my little friend upstairs, where the shades had still been drawn and the room had a sense of dormancy to it after our busy night before.

"So where are your parents?" Jen asked, "Away, I assume?"

"Yeah" I said, carrying her into the kitchen, where I let her rest on my white kitchen counters. I opened the freezer and took out the box of bagel bites, "this should hopefully be enough for us, right Jen?"

"Bobby, I'll barely eat one of those things" Jen laughed, "So yeah, I think we're good"

"Yeah, you're right" I said, sliding the pizza bagels into the microwave, "I still thought I'd ask"

I stand by the counter now, to talk to Jen, being careful of where I place my hand as I lean against the counter itself.

"So... what do you do at work anyway?" Jen asked, "like what does a regular day consist of, at Staples?"

"Well... not much, Jen" I said, trying to sound noble about it, "not much at all... I usually field a series of idiotic questions and --"

"You don't have to be so negative about it" Jen said, looking up at me with a bit of a frown, "you should try to make it fun"

"Oh I've tried" I said, nearly rolling my eyes at her foolish suggestion. "But I've been there so long, and the managers hate me..."

"Why do the managers hate you?" Jen asked, as I checked on our pizza bagels in the microwave.

"I have no clue" I said. "I've been there for 2 years now, but they think that means they can just push me around because I'm so used to it..."

"So why don't you speak up?" Jen said, standing up from her place on the counter, "stand up for yourself, Bobby"

"I appreciate your concern..." I sighed, "but that's just the way it is, yknow?"

"Yeah I guess" Jen said, sitting down in a defeated fashion. I felt bad making her frown.

"I'm sorry" I said, kneeling down so that my eyes were level with the counter and I could see her better. "Don't you worry, today WILL be fun!"

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized, I may just be right. Today would be fun! I loved Jen and getting to be with her all day made work seem all the more pleasant.

Thus, that afternoon as I suited up for work, I tried to not think of it as a bad experience. I went into the bathroom and changed into my red staples shirt with black jeans as Jen waited outside the door, perched on my bedroom beaureau.

"What time do you have to be there?" Jen shouted from behind the door.

"4 o clock" I said, "Why?"

"Well it's almost 10 of 4" Jen warned, "Shouldn't you be on your way?"

"Oh crap, you're right" I said, with only one sleeve of my shirt on at the moment. I clumsily slipped on the red garment and stepped out of the bathroom, ready to go, or as ready as I'd ever be. In my careless rush, I nearly ran past Jen who sat patiently on my dresser top.

"Uh hello?" she said playfully, "forgetting something?"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" I said, putting my hand down in front of her and letting her get settled as I slipped her gently into my pocket.

"It's fine, it's fine" Jen said, "now c'mon let's go, I could use a good adventure!"

"Alright then" I said, "hold on tight!"

I then jogged down my hallway, down my stairs and out my garage, sitting down in my car and taking a very distraught Jen from my pocket.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, out of breath myself from my sprinting. Jen nodded her head as her hair flew wildly into her face. I set her down in my cup holder and took off for work.

"It seems like we're going kind of fast..." Jen said, being slightly shaken in her cup holder. "I mean, faster than usual..."

"I'm sorry" I said, taking a sharp corner with little regard for my speed, "should I slow down?"

"It's up to you" she said, and then added sarcastically, "I know how committed you are to your job"

"Hey, I'm not UN-COMMITTED... I'm just... yeah I suppose I am..." I sighed, "but it's not my choice... it's just kind of happened..."

"I understand... kind of" Jen sighed.

For some reason, there was something I just wanted to come out and ask her... something that had been stirring in my head for the last few days I had known her. So I asked it,

"Jen, are you happy? Like in general?"

"I'm... no... not really" she sighed, unable to cover it up any longer. "I get a bit frustrated sometimes..."

"About what?"

"I don't think it's important to say" Jen said, getting defensive. I frowned and didn't know what to say. I certainly didn't want to pressure her further, and we had almost made it to the dreaded job, and only 6 minutes late.

"You're late" Krista said, watching me critically as I punched in that afternoon. "And tuck in your shirt"

Krista was this older lady who seemed to have nothing to do but criticize me at every turn, whether it was something simple like tucking my shirt in, or something major like sending that old couple the wrong computer and costing the store hundreds of dollars... what? it could happen.

"Who was that?" Jen whispers, from down in my pocket. I took a couple moments to answer her so noone would see.

"That's Krista... I don't know why we don't get along but she seems to have it out for me" I explained.

"Well don't worry" Jen said, "I'll always have your back"

I couldn't help but chuckle out loud, as I added, "thanks, good to know"

I walked Jen back to our break room and looked around a few times, making sure noone was inside. I slowly removed Jen from my pocket and put her down on the large cafe table in the room, which had been covered with empty cups and plates.

"Is it usually this... messy?" Jen asked, looking around the daftly lit room. Sure it was never an ideal location to lounge, but today it looked especially askew, as if a tornado had whalloped the place.

"I can't say that it is..." I said, picking up a capsized coffee cup that had been at my feet, "There must've been some kind of party here..."

"I see..." Jen said, "Well this is..."

Then Jen stopped talking and suddenly looked up at me with panic. It took me a couple seconds but I realized the reason behind her worry. There was the noise of distant footsteps that were slowly getting louder, and I heard a couple female employees chatting as they neared the break room.

"Hurry, hide me!" Jen gasped, and ran towards the edge of the table to get into my outstretched hand, but it was too late.

The 2 girls enter the room, still in mid-sentence, but they don't yet notice Jen who scampers behind a coffee cup on the table. I nervously scoot away from the table to avoid suspicion.

The 2 girls had been Liz and Anya, a couple employees I actually didn't mind talking to.

"Hey Bobby" Liz said, "what's up?"

"Heh, not much" I said, keeping one eye down on the table where Jen looked up at me very worried. I was worried too, but trying to hide my emotion.

"You okay, Bobby?" Anya asked, opening her locker and putting her purse inside. Luckily she seemed too preoccupied to be looking at Jen on the table, but Liz was an immediate threat. "You seem a bit... distressed..."

"Well, y'know," I said, watching Jen in growing anticipation as she tried to pace around the coffee cup in such a way that Liz couldn't see her. She ducked around it and covered herself with an adjacent napkin. "Heh, just not looking forward to another day here..."

"I hear ya" Liz chimed in and then put her hand down on the table as she spoke, her hand behind about 2 feet from Jen's location. Jen immediately stopped moving at this point and so did I. "But y'know, it's only a few hours and then we go home right?"

"This is true" I said, faking a smile.

"But yeah, the customers can be so rude sometimes" Liz continued and took off her black coat, leaving it on the table so it draped over Jen. My eyes widen in terror, but noone notices. I had to find a way to distract the 2 girls. I couldn't let them see Jen, or worse, I couldn't let Jen get hurt. "I had this one guy who... Bobby, are you listening?"

"Huh, yeah... I'm listening" I said, and nervously chuckled, "yeah, that guy was a jerk"

"I didn't even tell the story yet" Liz sighed and picked up her coat now, but when she did the napkin Jen had been hiding under was gone, and so was Jen! "Anyway, I gotta go punch in, I'm late"

I could almost speak no words as I found myself concerned with Jen's safety. The 2 girls eventually made their way out, making some comment to one another concerning how weird I had been acting. I search under the table for Jen when I hear her feeble voice from above.

"Are they gone?" Jen whimpered.

"Yeah, where are you?" I asked, getting up and taking a good look around. Then I notice Jen crawl out of a coffee cup. She must've hid in there when Liz put her coat on the table. "Oh my god... I'm so sorry"

"It's fine" Jen sighed, "noone got hurt... I was just so scared... for a second there, y'know besides you, noone's seen me... y'know found me... y'know..."

"I know, and I'm sorry" I sighed, "but you shouldn't hide yourself... you're really..."

"I know... just... just leave it alone" Jen said and turned herself away from me for a second before turning back "I'm sorry"

"It's okay..." I said, and offered my hand to her once again. She hesitated for a couple seconds, making sure noone was around before she stepped into my palm and laid herself down. I slid her into my pocket and she made herself more comfortable.

"Okay Jen..." I said, "let me know if there's anything I can do to make you more comfortable, or anything..."

"You're doing fine, don't worry" Jen said, and so I was off... but still the thought terrified me that I had let those 2 girls come so close to seeing my little friend... I'd have to be more careful in the future...

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 12: Night at Avery Point

"Well..." Jen chuckled, brushing some hair from her face as I set her down in my cup holder and adjusted my rear view mirror. "That was certainly an interesting day..."

"Yes... I would say so..." I sighed, kinda holding back a laugh, "I told you to stay away from that cup of paper clips"

"I know I know..." Jen said, as I slowly pulled away from Staples after yet another day that I could only hope would be my last, even if that weren't the case. "But they were so colorful... and well... thanks for getting the cup back before that little kid bought it"

"No problem" I said, "but it sure was hard telling him, and his mom, that those paper clips had to be sent back to China for further testing because they might have mercury in them"

"Yeah it was" Jen chuckled, and then kinda sat back in her cup holder, getting comfortable and looking up at me with a smile as I drove. I glanced down every few seconds, sometimes distracted by her. Even from my height I could see her eyes quite well and they looked really nice, especially as they focused on me.

Feeling a need to break the awkrard silence, I spoke.

"So... is there anywhere else you wanted to go?" I asked. At this point, it had been 9:30 and the moon was out, but it was stilla nice night.

"Yeah actually..." Jen said, "if you don't mind..."

"No, not at all, tell me" I said, slowing down a bit.

"Well, what if we went to Avery Point?" she asked.

"Avery Point?" I repeated. I had been there at night before, and it was always quite nice, so I could certainly understand her wanting to go there, even if she lived there everyday.

"Yeah, it's just... really nice, and..." Jen said, growing nervous as she spoke, and well, I certainly didn't want her to be nervous, at least as nervous as I was, so I cut her off and said "No problem, let's go"

I turned onto the highway and took off for Avery Point, getting there at about 10 pm and parking down by the ocean. I get out of my car slowly and then gently remove Jen from the cup holder, as we're greeted with the sounds of crashing waves and a careful ambience that surrounds the entire campus.

"This is really nice" Jen said, as I shut the door to my Pontiac and walked off with her cupped in my hands.

"Yeah you are..." I chuckled and then quickly corrected myself, "I mean yeah it is"

"Hey let's go over by the Branford House" Jen said, "I figure since I've seen your house, you should get a better look at mine"

"Sure" I said, and took her through the silent grass to the looming mansion in the distance. It looked so much more ominous at night, but had a certain elegance to it as well, as I walked us up the small staircase to the foyer. "Now where would you like to go?"

"Let's just sit down over there" Jen said, pointing to a corner of the foyer from which you could see everything in the distance. I sat down against the wall and set Jen down on the ground below me. She walked forward so she was almost off the edge of the staircase now and looked out at the glistening ocean, then back at me. "It sure does make you feel... well... small, doesn't it?"

I chuckled, "yeah, I suppose so"

Jen then walked back to me and did something I didn't expect. She leaned her weight against my thigh and sighed as if she was drifting to sleep. I smiled, feeling her warmth against me.

"Bobby?" she said, sounding drowsy.

"Yeah" I asked, feeling a bit tired myself as I looked down at my little friend leaning against me.

"I just... I just want to thank you... so much" Jen said, and started to scoot herself down some so she had her back against the wall and placed her head back on the side of my leg. "You've been so nice to me... and..."

"Well of course I've been nice to you" I smiled, "how could I not be? You're just so awesome and..."

"Me? Ha" Jen laughed, "You're the awesome one, Bobby... you've treated me better than anyone I can remember... you've been so kind to me, when you could've just taken advantage of me... I mean, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not very big..."

"Jen..." I said, "I don't care how big you are, you deserve respect like everyone else, and quite frankly... well..."

"Yeah?"

"...you're... better..." I began to say.

"What do you mean, better?" Jen asked.

"I mean you're better than other girls, better than other people, no matter what size" I said, starting to let my thoughts just pour of my mouth, "and whether you're 6 feet tall or 3 inches... I just... well, I think you're pretty great"

Jen smiled and didn't have to say anything to express the effect I had had on her. She gets herself more comfortable, now laying out against me.

"There is just one thing more I'd like to ask" I said. Jen looked up in curiousity, "well, you mentioned that your birthday is coming up, and well... I'm wondering if there's anything you'd like"

Jen sighed, and suddenly I could tell I had touched on another sensitive topic.

"Well..." Jen said, still sounding drowsy but now a bit confused as she continued on in her speech, "there's only one thing I really want... and well..."

"Yeah?"

"I could... never... ask you to give that to me..." Jen sighed, looking away from me now and out towards the ocean to avoid direct eye contact. I looked down at her bewildered. What did she mean? I could ask... but I didn't want to ruin this perfect moment any further than I already had.

"We should probably get back... soon..." I said, never wanting to leave this resting place, with Jen nestled against me as we both looked out at the ocean now. "It's almost 11"

"Yeah... we'll go soon" Jen said, and leaned herself against me, now closing her eyes. "We'll go..."

"Yeah" I said, and let myself drift away as well.

"Hey Bobby?" Jen said, "there's something... I... should probably tell you"

"Sure" I said, feeling my eye lids grow heavier.

"Bobby..." she said, "I... I..."

I then snapped my eyes open when I realized she hadn't spoken for a few moments. I looked down at her to see that she had fallen asleep. I didn't want to wake her and since I was tired as well... I decide there was only one thing to do.


"Goodnight, Jen" I smiled, and got myself comfortable against the wall.

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 13: My little mistake


The wind stung my face as I opened my eyes, slowly at first and then all in one swift motion. I look around and realize...

"Where'd she go?"

I look around my immediate area and find no sign of her, before she emerges from a nearby shrub, yawning.

"Wow" she said, brushing herself off and then laying back down against the rock wall, "we uh... slept here all night"

"Yeah" I said, squinting my eyes to look out over the water, which was now blanketed by fog. I then direct my eyes back down at her, "hopefully you had a good rest"

"I did, how about you?" she asked.

"It was great" I smiled, and then slowly began to stand up. "What time is it anyway?"

I glance at my watch and notice that it's already after 12 pm and realize I was due at work in less than an hour.

"Oh shoot..." I sighed, remorefully looking down at Jen, "I uh gotta go... work time..."

"Oh..." she said dissapointingly "well, thats understandable... but thanks... for everything"

"No problem" I said, still feeling tired, as I gathered up my things and bid my friend adieu.

As I drive to Staples, I just couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened. For the first time... well ever, I had connected with a girl that was really awesome. I mean, sure I dated Kim for a year beforehand, but... heh, I hadn't even remembered Kim over the last several days. As long as Jen was around, it was as if she didn't exist, as it should be, but I digress.

Since Jen came into my life, I've found myself experiencing something... maybe not love, but something I've never felt before. I've been obsessed with girls before, but not quite like this. Then again, Jen wasn't like most girls, and I was okay with that. But I couldn't help but be perplexed by some of the things she said.

Then again, who said women were easy to understand in general?

I laid myself on my bed at about 10:30 that night, deciding to get some early rest. I thought that maybe I could visit Jen early the next morning, and pick up where we had left off... but where were we? And more importantly, where was it going?

These questions swirl in my mind but get lost in my sea of thoughts and I drift away with them, into a state that was as close to sleep as I could ever hope to be in.

It was a bright sunny day at the Branford House and the usual dark greys and browns of the branford house shone with strong tones of white. I walked excitedly up the steps to find Jen, sleeping in the spot we had slept together in just a night ago.

"Hey Jen" I said, walking up to her. She looked she had something to say.

"Hey Bobby" she said, and then signaled for me to come closer, "could I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah sure" I said, and bent down, more to her level, looking her in the eye. "What's up?"

"Well... heh" she said, chuckling and holding back a smile, "I uh... wanted to ask you something... actually..."

"Yeah sure" I said. I wasn't sure what she was going to say, but since she was smiling, it must've been something good.

"Well... we've spent a lot of time together, right?" Jen asked.

"Yeah" I said.

"And well, it's pretty obvious you really like me" she said, flashing me a wink.

"Heh... yeah... maybe" I said, feeling a bit flustered when she said that.

"And well... I like you too..." she said, looking up at me, and then was about to continue on, "and so I thought..."

"Yeah?" I said, looking down at her attentively, hanging on her every word at this point.

"Well I thought we could..."

"Thought we could what?"

"I thought we could..."

"Yeah?"

"I thought we could... thought..."

"What?" I asked, getting confused. She seemed more nervous than usual now.

"I thought we could..."

Suddenly, the sun turned to rain, and I found myself in my bedroom instead. I looked around, just to confirm it. But it was true... surrounding me were the plain pale walls of my bedroom, and there I was in my bed, half asleep, with no noise except the faint audio of the tv.

"DAMN IT!" I said, and slapped my pillow.

As I get into my car, I realize it couldn't have been a much worse day. The temperature was in the 50's but it felt a bit coolert than that and it had rained overnight, so the sky was still overcast and gloomy. It was definitely not what I was expecting after that dream of mine.

I arrive at Avery Point, where there's small amounts of rain still falling and head towards the student center when Im greeted by a familiar face... not Jen, but Sarah.

"Hey, Bobby, wait up" she said, and strolled up to me before I had a chance to say or do anything.

"Hey... Sarah" I said, chuckling nervously, finding myself getting pulled into the student center for a game of pool. That's usually how these things ended up.

"So Bobby" Sarah said, as she chalked up a pool cue. She had set up the pool game already - in record time, "I should warn you, John's pretty pissed at you"

"John? What'd I do to him?" I asked, barely paying attention to Sarah's break. She then signaled that it was my turn so I took a lackluster shot.

"Well, I don't know..." Sarah said, smirking at my lack of pool skills, "maybe you left him - and me, by the way - just chilling at the mall on friday night"

"Ohhh yeah..." I said, feeling the guilt set in again. I loved my friends, I really did, but Jen didn't want to be revealed to them, and I was in no position to be disrespecting the wishes of a fairy. "Sarah, I'm..."

"Hey don't sweat it..." Sarah smiled, taking her shot and actually making it this time, "I know the reason you've been ditching John and I, so I understand"

"Heh... Sarah, I don't think you could..."

"It's a girl... I know it's a girl" Sarah said, frankly. "And I won't be like John and get mad about it, I'll just wish you luck"

"But it's not..."

"Bobby, c'mon" Sarah said, as I once again took a horrible shot at the 5 ball. "You have a horrible poker face... I know you're crushing on someone..."

"Well..." I said, with a slight smile "that perhaps wasn't the best choice of words"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind" I said, realizing why she'd never get my pun. Despite the rain, it was a pretty relaxing day, with noone in the room but Sarah and I, and some random kid on a laptop. It was just us and the sound of the pool balls clacking on the table. I'd of course find time to visit Jen later but I guess I owed my friend some time as well.

"So... what's her name?" Sarah asked.

"Huh?"

"The girl" Sarah chuckled, "I'm not gonna forget about this, you should know me by now"

And damn it, I did and she could be very persistent, especially about these kind of things.

"I don't know..."

"Bobby?" she asked.

"Ugh fine... her name is... her name is... Jen" I said, and later got angry at myself for dispensing her real name. I was going to make something up but for some reason it just slipped out of my mouth.

"Jen? That's a pretty name" Sarah said.

"Yeah... yeah it is" I said, beginning to feel uncomfortable about the nature of our conversation. On one hand, I felt tempted to just say everything, come clean and ask Sarah what to do. After all, she'd be supportive and might even have some advice... but I also didn't want to reveal Jen to anyone. Even though I felt a certain pride about her, she did not share in this, so it wasn't my place to speak of her to others.

"So..." Sarah said, continuing her dominance in pool, "When am I gonna meet this lady?"

"Uh... what?"

"You heard me" Sarah smirked, "when am I gonna meet her? I know she goes here, and I know you've been talking to her, in fact you're probably thinking of talking to her right now"

"I am not..." I said, while my brain said something completely different.

Just then the door whooshed open and John stood on the other side, completely coated with rain. He shut the door and let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"Whew!" he said, "it's pouring out there"

"Pouring?" I said, my concerns suddenly elevated.

"Oh look who it is" John sighed. "I suppose you're gonna..."

Before John could even finish whatever he was saying, I had darted out of the room and headed for the boy's room to grab some paper towels.

"Bobby!" Sarah shouted, chasing after me.

I ran from the boy's room with a good cluster of paper toweling stuffed into my pockets, barely noticing that Sarah had been tailing me.

"Bobby, come back here!" Sarah said, quickly closing the gap between us, but I didn't care. What if Jen was drowning, or something? I knew she knew how to take care of herself, but still... I couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

As I ran, I became steadily more wet and before long, the paper towels in my pockets would be rendered useless, but I still kept going. It seemed to take longer than usual to get there but I did and ran hurriedly up the steps again, but this time, not on a sunny day.

"JEN!" I shouted, as a mightly clap of thunder erupted behind me, so I shouted again, "JEN!!"


I looked around but there was no answer. I looked in all the corners and even the rain gutters, but there was nothing.

"JEN!!" I said, nearly out of breath this time. I then saw something moving in some standing water and could barely make out a small figure. "Jen?"

I saw Jen flailing around in the water and quickly lifted her out. She was gasping and gagging in my hands, soaking wet.

"Bobby... I..." she said, coughing still.

"Shhh, don't talk" I said, and laid a piece of slightly dry paper towels on my other hand. I put the paper towel over her and she dried herself off as best she could.

"Bobby...I..." Jen said, gasping still, and then I realized why she was gasping at all.

"So THIS is her?" I heard a voice say. I turned back, aghast, and saw Sarah, who had been watching the whole thing. Jen scampered back in my hand, concealing herself behind the paper towel, but it had been too late.

"Uh..." I said, too nervous to speak. I didn't know if I should say anything or Jen should. I mean, how does one explain this?

"She's... so small" Sarah said, in a tone reminiscent of a small child. "She's..."

"Alright that's enough!" Jen said, and tossed the paper towel off herself angrily, now stepping to the edge of my palm to address Sarah, "YES, I'm small!"

"I'm... I'm sorry" Sarah said, backing away, surprised by the little girl's reaction to her.

"Well you should be!" Jen shouted, her eyes turning red as she looked at me now, looking completely embarassed, "Bobby, how could you let this happen? I told you I didn't want this!"

Sarah was about to apologize again, but Jen continued.

"I'm not some exhibit... for people to gawk at!" Jen screamed, as tears began to trickle down her face.

"I never..." I began, but I too felt sad.

"I don't care what your excuse is" Jen said, "please just set me down"

"Huh?"

"SET ME DOWN!!" she screamed.

"I was just trying to help" I sighed sadly, but I realized 100% why she was mad. I set her down slowly.

"I don't need your help!" Jen screamed, "I don't need anyone's help! And I'm not some toy, Im not some exhibit, I'm just me... and I can take care of myself"

Jen then ran off into the shrubbery. I was about to follow her when Sarah held me back.

"Let her go" Sarah said silently.

"But I...."

"I'm telling you as a girl" Sarah said, "just give her time... but for now, leave her be"

"Okay" I said, realizing she was right. I still can't believe I had been so stupid. I never meant for this to happen... never.

"Bobby..." Sarah said, giving me a sincere look "I am so sorry"

"It's fine, not your fault" I said, and we slowly walked away from the Branford House as the rain came crashing down around us.

"I just don't get it though... I mean how..." Sarah said.

"I'll explain everything..." I sighed, walking away with Sarah. "You see, it all started with..."

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 14: Making amends

"C'mon, c'mon..." I said, alone in my room, holding my cell phone tightly as I dialed her number for about the 18th time. Still no answer.

I hang up and dial her number again.

Still no answer.

Finally, I flop onto my bed and leave my cell phone in my drawer. What was it gonna take to earn Jen's forgiveness? I didn't mean for anything like that to happen...how was I supposed to know that Sarah would find out about this? Thinking back on it, if there was ever anyone curious enough to figure it out, it would've been Sarah and in this case, curiousity killed me, not the proverbial cat I'm always hearing about.

Suddenly, I'm startled by a rattling coming from my drawer. It's a vibration from my cell phone, so I reach for it but notice it's only a text message. I open it and read:

"How come we never talk anymore?"

I scroll down further to see the name and it's from Kim. Ugh, you've got to be kidding, I thought to myself. I decide to ignore her text completely. If she couldn't figure out by now why I wouldn't want to talk to her, there was no point in explaining it, and so I return to my spot on my bed, thinking about life.

Throughout this whole situation I had kinda let everyone down. It seemed like whenever I fell in love, or got caught up in this kind of thing (not that I've known too many fairies in my lifetime), I dissapoint a good friend of mine, or a girl I care about, or myself. In this case, I felt like I had let everyone down. I left my friends out of the picture, I let Jen down and I let myself down. To make matters worse, Jen's birthday was in a couple days, and I had no clue what to get her except the big fat apology I'd be giving her when I got to school tomorrow... but perhaps first things first. I needed to make things up to my friends as well, maybe play some foosball with John again. Now that Sarah actually knew the details of my predicament perhaps she could help me out, but I wasn't counting on it. I got myself into this mess, and I'd somehow have to dig myself out.

As I went to sleep though, I wondered, would Jen even talk to me at all anymore?

I wondered all these things as I drove to school in the morning, as I additionally wondered what to get Jen. I knew there was something she wanted... something important. She mentioned it during our night at Avery Point a few nights back, before she hated me. She told me she could never ask me for it though... but I'd be willing to give it to her at this point, no matter what it was.

I get out of my car and tenatively contemplate where to go next. Of course, in about a second or two, I wasn't about to be given much of a choice.

"So, what was all that yesterday?" John asked, suddenly sidling up beside me, while Sarah seemed to be blocking me from the other side. I don't know how they could always be so stealthy.

"Well uh..." I stammered, not really knowing how to answer his rather straight forward question. Sarah, of course, knew what was going on, but John was still totally clueless and probably always would be.

"Let's just say Bobby has a... little problem" Sarah chuckled.

"That's not funny!" I sneered, elbowing her slightly but she still laughed. Admittedly, it was a good pun.

"ANYWAY..." John said, as we inevitably walked into the student center to potentially kill a bunch of time playing useless games.

"Yeah, I know..." I said, cutting him off, "I know I've been acting kinda weird..."

"...and randomly ditching us" John continued.

"...and randomly ditching you..." I said, "I've just been going through some... stuff... but I'll be okay"

"Indeed" John said, then looked down at the foosball table that we had apparently drifted towards during our conversation. "Are you ready?"

"Fine" I said, with a smirk. And I was ready. Perhaps I could take out some of my frustration and confusion on the foosball table, as I often times did. During the rapid paced game of foosball, I thought I felt a vibration in my pants pocket, but I couldn't help but continue on in my foosball related pursuit. Besides, it was probably Kim once again begging for forgiveness.

After my appetite for foosball subsided, I eventually departed from the student center and checked my cell phone. Much to my surprise, and confusion, I had a missed call from Jen. I quickly hustle up to the Branford House, as usual.

"Jen?" I said, kinda quietly, after what had happened with Sarah yesterday. I look around for a while and realize she's probably not around. She was probably hiding from me and didn't want to be found. I slump off to the stairs and sit with my face in my hands, looking out at the ocean. Jen had probably only called to tell me to not bother coming at all. She'd probably never speak to me again. I slant my eyes downward so I'm looking at nothing but the inside of my palm.

"Hey stranger... why so glum?" I hear.

I take my hands off my face and look down to see Jen standing on the step below me.

"Well?" she asked, with a tenative smile on her face, as if she didn't know whether to be happy or not. "Are you gonna answer me or what?"

I still stared down at her somewhat blankly, not knowing what to say at this point.

"Well can you atleast help me up?" Jen said, making small leaps to try to get above the step that was about an inch higher than she was, but it was obvious she wasn't trying as hard as usual, because I had seen her get up there before. "I am a bit dainty y'know"

"Jen... I..." I said, sighing, knowing she was referring to my over protectiveness of her.

"I'm kidding!" Jen smiled and pulled herself onto the step, quite quickly. "So what's up? I tried to call, y'know"

"I know..." I said, unfolding my cell phone, "I just didn't think you'd ever want to talk to me again after..."

"Well I'll admit..." Jen sighed, losing her smile for the moment, "I was really scared when I first saw your friend... but then I thought about it..."

"Yeah?"

"And if she really wanted to do anything to me, she would've... and she didn't seem mean either" Jen said, kinda looking down as she spoke. "I guess I was a bit too rash"

"No, not at all" I said, also not able to look her right in the eye for some reason. It was as if the whole situation made both of us very uncomfortable. "I can understand your reaction completely, and I... I just let you down and..."

"You didn't let me down" Jen said, "It wasn't your fault, and I should've realized that... and also..."

"Yeah?"

"Well I shouldn't be so... sensitive...about my size... yknow?" and she then chuckled uncomfortably and looked me in the eye and said "I mean... heh... that is who I am, right?"

I could sense a bit of faltering in her voice as she spoke. And it was then I realized what I always kind of knew. Whenever I thought of fairies or anything from a disney story, I just figured they were small because that was part of their charm and everyone was okay with that. I didn't realize that maybe fairies didn't nessecarily like being small or referred to as such, it was just part of who they were.

I look down at Jen again and said, "Jen... you may be small... but that doesn't define you"

Jen looked up at me and smiled, but then quickly frowned and looked back down.

"No, I mean it" I said again "When I think of you... I don't think of you as a certain size... I just... think of you... and how much I..."

I then sort of stopped myself and let Jen deduce whatever she wanted from that sentence. I couldn't quite bear myself to say it, especially not now, when the time didn't feel right.


"Well, I just wanted to apologize" Jen said, and I could notice small tears welling up in her eyes, "and um... I hope we're still cool"

"Yeah" I said in a silent tone, not having much more to say myself, well... okay one more thing. "Hey Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh... what DO you want for your birthday?"

"Uh... nothing" she said nervously.

"No no no, I remember you telling me there's one thing you really wanted" I said, determined now to find out what it is. "And I really would like to know, if it'd make you happy"

"It would...but..." Jen started.

"But what?" I asked.

"I just... couldn't..." Jen said, confusing me further.

"Couldn't what? I'm willing to listen if you'll tell me" I said, "I just want you to have a happy birthday..."

"And I appreciate that, but... there's only one thing I've wanted for a while... and I don't see it happening..." Jen said, and began to walk away.

"Jen?" I said, "JEN?!"

I sighed and realized she had either slipped off somewhere or just stopped talking. I decide to do the same and walk back to the student center.

Whatever she wanted for her birthday, I was gonna figure it, and damn it, she was goin to get it... one way or another...

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 15: Jen's birthday

"Hmmmm... what could it be?" I pondered to myself, scribbling feverishly on my scrap of paper. "Maybe she wants a rocket ship!"

I then doodled a small rocket ship, scribbling exhaust from the tail pipe, before I crossed it out in frustration? A ROCKET SHIP? She wasn't 4 years old!

I then begin drawing a diamond ring - I mean, diamonds ARE a girl's best friend, or so I thought. I finally cross that out when I realize finding her size might be a problem... not to mention I don't make nearly enough money for a diamond ring.

"Bobby?" the teacher said suddenly, in a most stern tone of voice. I look up from my paper, somewhat startled.

"Huh?"

"Bobby, what do you think Arthur meant in chapter 7?"

"Uh... maybe he was... uh..."

"Looks like someone has to brush up on their reading" the teacher sighed and continued on. I sighed with embarassment and settled back into my imagination. What could it be?

That night, I gave Jen another call on my cell phone and she picked up this time.

"Hey, whats up?" she asked.

"Can I have a hint?" I asked nervously.

"Bobby" she said, half chuckling, "we've been through this, I'm not gonna tell you what it is"

"Then just give me a hint" I said.

"No" she said, without much hesitation, "if it was that important, I'd tell you but I..."

"But it is important" I said, "it's important if it's something you want..."

"Look... just... just... don't worry about it" she said again and then the line went dead. I sighed and put my phone back down.

Now what was I to do?

I laid my head down on the pillow and tried to get some rest, but all I could think about were clues, hints... anything that she had said. My mind raced around, from realistic things to stupid things like rocket ships, when I suddenly caught a hold of something. My mind was racing again, perhaps in the right direction this time. I began to analyze Jen's prior words, thinking of anything... any clue... any hint...

"Being this small..." Jen said, "it gets kind of tiresome to walk long distances..."

"you only like me because I'm unique... something different... but not in a good way..."

"...of course..." I heard Jen say very quietly, "...I still wish I wasn't this small"

"I'm not some exhibit... for people to gawk at!"

And then... it hit me, like a crash of thunder and everything in my mind fell silent. I knew... I knew what she wanted.

I slam my head on the pillow and sigh.

"What the hell am I going to do?"

The next morning came like any other, but it wasn't any other morning. It was Jen's birthday, and while I might not have been able to grant her birthday wish, damn it, I was going to make sure she had a special day, as best I could.

I decided I could take her out to lunch, take her whereever she wanted, and make it one of her best days ever. Okay, so maybe I had set the bar too high, but I had gotten too far to fail her now.

I get to Avery Point in record time and walk towards the Branford House. I look around, feeling both nervous and excited.

I mean, what would I say when I found her? Should I ask her again what she wanted? Or should I just leave it alone? I had no idea what to say or do, and my feelings overtook me like a waterfall, and then I saw something I didn't expect at all.

I saw Sarah, also in the vicinity, and it looked as if she was ... she was... talking to Jen!

"Sarah!" I said, and quickly ran over. "What are you..."

"Calm down" Jen said, in a hushed voice. Sarah had been kneeled down in the corner where Jen was resting. "Sarah and I were just talking"

"Yeah, just wanted to wish her a happy birthday" Sarah explained, "I guess you could say we really hit it off"

"Yeah" Jen said, nodding in agreement, "Sarah's really nice"

"Oh" I said, feeling pleasantly surprised and also speechless, as well as a tad embarassed. After what had happened the other day, it felt really weird to see Jen just chatting it up with one of my friends now. Maybe someday, I'd even introduce her to John ... or maybe not.

"Well anyway..." Sarah said, getting up now and patting me on the back, as she chuckled, "I guess I'll leave you two lovebirds alone... see you Jen"

I groan as she walked off, thinking to myself, "why did she have to say that?"

"Your friend... she's funny" Jen said, as I took her place kneeling in the corner.

"Yeah, she's a riot..." I said, rolling my eyes. "Anyway how are you? I mean, y'know... heh... it's the big day"

Oh geez, I thought to myself, feeling the nerves set in yet again. Why was I so nervous? It was probably because I wanted so bad to ask her about that birthday wish... to ask her yet again what she wanted... even if part of me knew. I just had to be sure... I needed some closure on it. It didn't help that I was traditionally horrible when it came to birthdays in general and this was no ordinary birthday.

"So Jen... did you have any plans for today?" I asked.

"No" she said, in a very nonchalant type of way, "I guess I'm not really much of a birthday type"

"Really?" I said, feeling a slight frown coming on, "so you didn't want to do ANYTHING?"

"Well..." she started and then turned away a bit "no"

"Nothing at all" I said, feeling kind of let down at this point. I still wasn't 100% positive of what she wanted for her birthday but I was willing to at least do something. After all... I did love her.

"Yeah..." she said, sort of somberly and began walking away.

I felt an orb of frustration welling up inside of me. There was so much I wanted to say, so much I was thinking and it all rushed to my head at once... except this time, some of it came out of my mouth.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!" I shouted, and Jen stopped. She turned to me slowly, and then turned away again, pretending to not have heard of me. "I said, I know what you want for your birthday"

"There's no way you could possibly figure it out" Jen said, slowly, as if I had startled her. She hesistated before walking back to me, looking up at me, making eye contact. "I've never told anyone..."

"I know..." I said, letting out a long sigh. "...but I think I know... and..."

"And what?" Jen said, snapping suddenly. I sure as hell didn't want to blurt out what I thought without being 100% positive at this point.

"And... I don't know... I..." I said, stammering to find the words as she stared at me with both confusion and anger in her beautiful eyes.

"Well?" she said, tapping her foot, looking up at me. It almost looked like she was ready to come across some great breakthrough, whether it would be of elation, anger, or shame, I had no idea.
"What do you think I want?"

"Well... geez... I can't tell you when you're making me so nervous" I said at last and got up from the ground, distancing myself from her. She backed away as if she didn't expect me to do this and suddenly appeared frightened.

"Huh?" she gasped.

"It's just... I've tried to get close to you and let you into my life..." I said, looking down at her frightened figure on the ground as she seemed to await my every word, "...and I don't know, you want to keep as much about yourself secret as possible and it just gets to me after a while... Jen, I really care about you and... I just want to give you what you want for your birthday, because I'm your friend and because I care, and I always will care... but I guess... if you don't want to tell me... that's fine"

I stared to walk away. I really didn't want to, but it felt like the right thing to do. Suddenly I heard screaming from behind me.

"WAIT!!"

I turned back.

"PLEASE COME BACK!!" Jen screamed, nearly crying, "I'll tell you...please come back... don't leave me alone..."

And so I walked back, needing no further convincing. Jen signaled for me to come closer so I did. She was about to speak and then stopped.

"I... I just can't do this..." she said, turning away from me, holding back tears, "it's just too embarassing... can't you please respect that and just leave it be?"

I frowned when I realized she was right. I was putting too much pressure on her. That's not what good friends do.

"Okay Jen, I'll..."

"I want to be bigger!" she blurted out.

"Wh-What?" I gasped.

"Y-Yeah..." she said, as if she was afraid to hear herself speak, "I want to be big... y'know, not HUGE... but your height... normal height"

"Jen, I..."

"No, let me finish" Jen said, "I'm just tired of being this size... and maybe it's not because I feel like a toy or whatever... it's just... frustrating, I want to know what it's like... to be... big"

"Jen..." I said, as she holed up in the corner, burying her face in her knees. "Are you okay?"

She continued sobbing.

"Jen?" I said, and then said the only thing I could think of, and it was from my heart, "Jen, I'd do anything to grant you that wish... if it'd make you happy"

Jen looked up at me and said, "do you... do you mean that?"

"Yes" I said, "yes I do... honestly I don't care what size you are, but if you want to be bigger, that's fine, and I'd love to help you... but... I..."

"What?"

"I don't know that I can..." I said finally, biting my lip. I looked down at her for several seconds, expecting some kind of reaction. Perhaps dissapointment, anger, embarassment, but instead, she said something... something I didn't expect.

"Um, actually... you CAN help me"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well..." she said, and took a deep breath, "y'know how I'm a fairy right?"

"Yeah?"

"I uh... there is one magic power that I possess... but..."

"What is it?" I said, getting curious. Something about the prospect of magic always intrigued me.

"Well... there is one way..." Jen said, speaking slowly and methodically, "...one way... to... enlarge me..."

"Okay great, let's do it!" I said.

"It's not that easy..." Jen said, turning away from me slightly.

"Tell me" I said.

"You're sure?" Jen said, looking at me.

"Tell me" I repeated.

"Ugh, okay..." Jen said, her eyes now failing to make contact with mine as she spoke, "I can be enlarged... but..."

"But?"

"Someone... else... has to take my place" Jen said.

"I... don't understand" I said, although part of me did.

"Bobby... in order for me to grow... you... would have to shrink..." Jen explained, "you'd have to become... fairy sized"

"F-Fairy sized" I said, taken aback by what she had said.

"Yeah, its no big deal" Jen said, shrugging, "I shouldn't have even bothered telling you about it, just forget it"

I stared down at her and looked around. I felt dizzy, confused and nervous at the same time. I loved her... I wanted what's best for her ... but was I willing to do what she wanted?

"How... long...?" I started, "would I have to be.. your size?"

"Just a day or two, I swear" Jen said, "I just want to be big.. but... it's up to you, I won't make you do this"

I look at her with even more confusion. I didn't know what to do... my mind wanted nothing to do with it, but my heart... only cared for her, and if she had put up with being small for so long, surely, I could handle it for a day or two, right? I wasn't so sure, but I looked her in the eye, as best I could and said "I'll do it"

"You sure?" Jen asked.

"...I'm sure" I said, and picked her up slowly. "So how do we do this?"

"Let's... go somewhere quiet" Jen said, "we certainly don't want anyone seeing us"

"Okay, we'll go to the hideout" I said, and took her with me, all the while thinking about what I had just done. Maybe it'd be fun... to try something new. Who knows?

I walked us up the stairs to the hideout, when Jen asked again, "you're absolutely sure about this? I really don't want to pressure you"

"I-It's fine" I said, but still felt nervous. I was actually shaking a bit as I set her on the floor of an abadoned room.

"Okay.. it's actually pretty simple" Jen said. "All you have to do is wish for me to be big, and it should start automatically"

"Okay" I said, and closed my eyes, thinking strongly 'I wish Jen would be big'. I open my eyes quick and notice she's still the same, "Am I doing this right?"

"You have to really want it, Bobby" Jen said, "if any part of you has doubts, this won't work... you have to clear your mind, and really wish... wish hard..."

I gulped down my pride and closed my eyes again, for longer this time. I told my brain to shut up and I wished with my heart, 'I wish for Jen's happiness, I wish for her to feel and be as big as she wants to'.

I then opened my eyes and sighed.

"Nothing" I said.

Then something miraculous occured. There was a faint shine on the ground and she started growing. She grew and grew and I backed away sort of scared.

Within moments she had reached the height of a normal girl and stood right in front of me, absolutely breath taking. I wanted only to hold her and kiss her, and tell her how I feel... but before I could even get near her, I started to feel faint, but only for a moment. After that I looked at her again and she looked at me, without saying anything, until finally she broke the silence.

"Oh Bobby!!" Jen exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in an embrace and pulling me close to her, "I can't thank you enough for what you did for me... I... I..."

I sighed in some form of joy, but then felt myself slip away from her, as I slowly dwindled before her eyes, growing smaller and smaller as this falling sensation took me down, below her waist, then below her ankles, until finally I had completed my transformation and stood before her at only 3 inches high, and now the fragile form that I had once cradled in my hand was larger than life.

She looked down at me with a warm smile but still I felt afraid. I never expected it to feel so real... so threatening. Jen took a step towards me, but by instinct I backed away, utterly terrorfied.

"Bobby..." she whispered, and got down her knees. "I won't hurt you..."

I backed away still.

"Please... take my hand" she said, and put her hand down on the floor. Her hand appeared to be 20 feet wide. I gulped and stepped on, then looked up at her in fear.

She brought me closer to her face and I was actually stunned. From such a perspective, she was even more beautiful than before. Her 2 eyes were literally huge globes to me, and I could see every inch of detail within them, and her beautiful black hair hung in front of her like some kind of vineyard, but it didn't conceal her natural beauty.

"Bobby..." she said, "I.. I understand how scary this must be for you... and I..."

"HEY, WHO'S UP HERE?" a voice suddenly barked. I scampered behind Jen's finger, afraid.

"Oh shoot, who is that?" Jen asked, as footsteps neared our location.

"It sounds like campus police..." I said, "quick, hide me!"

"Hide you? But where?" Jen asked.

"I don't know, in your pocket, just get me out of sight, it's okay if they see you here, you're a regular height girl now" I said.

"Ok..." Jen said, with a nervous look on her face as she bit her lip. "I hope I don't hurt you"

She slowly let me slide off her hand into my pocket and I felt myself land in the corner of her pocket, my whole being turned sideways. It was quite cramped.

"Miss?" I heard an officer say "what are you doing up here?"

"Oh uh..." she stammered, "uh, my crazy friend... John, he told me to meet him here... but heh, he's nowhere in sight"

"Well Miss, this is a resticted area..." the officer said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave"

"Yes sir, I'm sorry sir" she said and walked out. As she walked, I was jerked back and forth by the rythm of her thighs.

"Hope you're okay down there" Jen whispered.

"I've been better" I muttered.

"Im so sorry, hold on, we're almost there"

"Almost where?" I asked, and then she slowly pulled me out of her pocket and revealed the Branford House. "Oh"

"Isn't it beautiful?" she said, but I could only stare ahead at the giantess who was holding me. I couldn't believe how breathtaking she now was. She always had this beauty in her, but now that I was tiny... I could see it so much better.

"Bobby..." she said, breaking the calm, "I'm... gonna call Sarah"

"Huh, why?" I said.

"That's not a problem, is it?" Jen asked.

"Well no..." I said nervously, although it kinda was, I had no idea how she'd react to seeing me fairy sized. "...but why..."

"I just need to take care of some stuff" Jen said, looking down at me with a slight frown, "Sarah will take care of you, I'm sure, but I will be back later and we'll switch sizes again, I promise"

"I'm just glad I could make you happy" I said, sitting back in her hand now and looking up at her. The surface of her palm felt realy smooth, yet soft. There were worse things in the world than sitting on it at that moment. She smiled and dialed Sarah's number.

"Hey Sarah?" she said, "Uh... hi, it's Jen again... uh... I need you to meet me at the Branford House as soon as possible... yes... it's important"

I sighed nervously, not really knowing what to expect. Here I had gone telling Jen not to worry about being small, but now I had been small for no more than 10 minutes and I was alrady afraid to be seen.

Sarah walked up the steps of the Branford House and looked at Jen with shock.

"Oh my.. you're... you're tall" she said and then got into her exciteable giddy mode as she ran up to Jen and embraced her. Jen, clenching me in her hand tightly made sure not to squish me in the hug.

"Hey, what's that in your hand?" Sarah asked.

"Uh... not what..." she chuckled nervously and began to open her hand, "more like who"

"Oh my god, Bobby!!" Sarah squealed, sounding more excited to see me little than she had been to see Jen big. "You're soooo cute!"


"Heh yeah..." I chuckled, looking up at Sarah, who also looked larger than life.

"Can I hold him?" Sarah beamed, looking down at me again, like a little kid who looked at a cat.

"Okay, just be..."

"Yay!" Sarah screamed and did something I wasn't expecting. She gripped me by the back of my shirt between 2 of her fingers and lifted me up into the air with my legs dangling. I screamed and looked straight down, only seeing Sarah and Jen's legs and a long way to the ground.

"HEY, BE CAREFUL WITH HIM!!" Jen shouted and Sarah apologized setting me down in her hand. "Do you think you could take care of him for a while?"

"I'd be glad to" Sarah smiled, in a playful voice. I looked up at her with fear. I really couldn't wait to be big again, but for Jen's sake, Id put up with this.

"Bobby, I'll be back as soon as I can, keep in touch, okay?" Jen said, as she walked off. I waved goodbye, and then looked back towards Sarah who wouldnt stop staring at me.

"what?"I said defensively.

"Well, you've done some pretty crazy things for girls..." she said, "but THIS..."

"Please... I don't want to talk about it..." I sighed.

"Oh c'mon" Sarah said, "you'll be fine... in the meantime I'll keep you in my purse"

"Your... purse?" I said, looking down to see her purse hanging from her shoulder.

"Yeah, just until I think of something more fun" she said.

"Okay... just please be careful with me... I'm not a toy" I said, finally able to understand Jen's pain.

"Of course you're not a toy" Sarah said, and then lifted me again without warning, "now down comes the rocket ship!"

"Sarah!" I groaned as she placed me in her purse.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry" Sarah said, but I couldn't see her at this point. I was already in her purse.

I leaned up against a lipstick that now stood taller than me and sighed.

"Happy birthday, Jen..." I thought to myself.

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 16: Little adjustments


"Okay, Bobby..." I heard Sarah say, "hold on"

It was at that moment Sarah stood fully upright and began moving while I was tossed around in her purse. It was almost like being on an elevator except it was more on a slant because of the way her purse hung from her shoulders, and I was unfortunately a victim of gravity.

As I felt myself pinned to the wall, as if I was in some kind of twisted variation of a moon walk, I thought about everything that had just happened.

Just a week ago, I didn't even know who Jen was, and now I was merely 3 inches tall, being captive in my friend's purse. What plagued me more than anything though, was the burning question on my mind...

"Where had Jen gone?"

What did she possibly have to do that I couldn't join her for. I certainly would've preferred to be in her care, since she understood what it was like to be small. The way Sarah was jostling her purse, I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Sarah!" I shouted, looking up and screaming through the tiny slit in the purse where her zipper hadn't quite closed me off from the outside world, "SARAH!!"

I sighed and fell backwards again, unable to stand upright for more than a few seconds. Sarah wasn't even running, she was just walking regular speed, but being in an area that was constantly moving became very disorienting for me. I started to feel light headed and eventually lost feeling in my legs, so I crashed in the corner, since it was at least easier to handle when laying down. Finally Sarah came to a stop, and put the purse on the ground. The only problem was, now the purse was sideways so I was forced to crawl towards the opening and once again shouted.

"SARAH!!"

Finally Sarah paused and looked down. She had been sitting down now, and we were by a large oak tree... well I guess everything was large now... but still, you get the idea. I meekly crawled out from the zipper hole which was just large enough for me to squeeze through. I look up at Sarah, out of breath.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Sarah asked, and her voice rang in my ears loud and clear. My voice, by comparison was practically nothing. Realizing anything I said to Sarah would most likely be intercepted by the breeze, I wave my hands in the air and shout up to her, telling her to pick me up. Sarah nodded with acknowledgement and set her hand on the ground near where I was.

I climbed on and sat on my knees as she slowly pulled me up to her eye level. The whole time, I felt this dizzying feeling return as I was propelled several feet off the ground.

"Yes, Bobby?" Sarah asked finally, taking the tone that a parent would take with their little child.

"Sorry, I just needed a break" I said, between anguished breaths "It's not easy being small, yknow..."

"Oh I bet it's not..." Sarah smiled and then did something I didn't expect. She used her index finger to pat me on the head. The sensation startled me and I kind of gave her a glare, "...but you're handling yourself pretty well, little guy"

"Okay enough" I said, squatting down so she couldn't pat my head as easily, "I know I'm little... but... but not for long"

"I know" Sarah said, and then sort of transferred me to her other hand, looking me over more carefully, "I mean how often do you get a chance to be this little?"

"The real question..." I groaned, struggling to get free of her fingers as she kept trying to wrap them around me like a crane, "...is how often would I WANT to be this little..."

"Well think of it this way" Sarah said, finally managing to snag me between her index finger and thumb. "Jen was always the small one, right?"

"Yeah..." I said and then let out a small squeak as Sarah tightened her grip around my torso.

"Well, now you're the small one" Sarah continued.

"Okay..." I said, more focused on exactly what Sarah was doing with me as she brought me to her face again.

"So it's like you're getting her perspective..." Sarah explained, "yknow, girls like that"

"They...do?" I asked, as I looked straight down at the ground and hoped Sarah had been holding me tight enough and I wouldn't just slip through her fingers.

"Sure, I mean, a so called tough guy wouldve just been like 'no jen, you're gonna stay small, because I'm the man'!" Sarah said, doing a mocking male voice, "but not you, you were kind enough to give Jen the chance she wanted, even if it meant you losing a few inches"

"More like a few feet," I said and hooded my eyes down, unable to make eye contact with Sarah who had been holding me steady in front of her face for some time now. "What are you doing with me anyway?"

"I don't know, just holding you" Sarah said, resuming her playful time, "you're fun to play with"

"Play with... what do you..."

"Wheeee!" Sarah squealed and she suddenly moved her arms in a clockwise fashion, sending my world spinning, "you're a rocket ship!"

"No, stop!!" I screamed, as if I was on some kind of thrill ride. When she finally did stop I felt really queasy and groaned in discomfort as she set me down on her open palm.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.

"No..." I groaned and fell to my knees. I felt dizzy again and flopped onto her hand.

"Bobby?" Sarah said, this time in true concern. "Bobby... are you okay? Don't scare me like this..."

"I'm...fine..." I struggled to say, but I really wasn't fine. Everything I had gone through put me through a mental and physical roller coaster and I was so tired out, I just wanted to collapse, and wake up normal sized again.

"Bobby, I'm so sorry" Sarah said, as I staggered to my feet again, "I won't play with you anymore, I promise... I was just having fun, I hope you don't hate me now"

"I... I..." I said, still struggling for words. My world was still spinning even though Sarah was actually standing still and I was resting in her hand. I looked up and Sarah's face appeared to be quivering through my point of view, "I don't hate you"

"Okay" Sarah said and then sat down against the tree trunk again, with me in her hand. "Here, would you like a better view?"

Before I could even answer, Sarah gently lifted me up further and at first I was scared but eventually realized she wouldn't drop me, as she set me down on her shoulder. I sighed in relief.

"Are you comfy there, Bobby?" Sarah asked, brushing her auburn hair away so she could get a better look at me. I looked back at her and nodded. Her shoulder acted as sort of a bench for me, and the tree trunk was a backing in case I lost my balance.

"So... what are we doing out here anyway?" I asked. I thought it was pretty bizarre that we were just sitting by a tree, overlooking the ocean. Then again, just about everywhere at Avery Point overlooked the ocean.

"I come out here a lot..." Sarah explained, looking out at the ocean, instead of at me, "I come out here to relax and just observe..."

And it was then I remembered something Jen had said, about how much clearer the details were when one was small. I thought about all the exploration she was capable of and all the things she said she could see. Being normal size made those kinds of observations harder.

"You sure you're alright?" Sarah asked again, in a softer tone so she wouldn't startle me.

"Yeah..." I said, in sort of a spaced out way, looking down at the grass and the dirt path and the tree. The tree trunk's grooves seemed to be several feet high and each blade of grass appeared to have it's own personality. Some blades of grass were miniscule, while others stretched upwards triumphantly, full of color and life. The dirt path was both magestic and rigid in it's appearance. It stretched on for a while, but it had no clear organization. The path was by no means straight and had many imperfections in it, including littered bottle caps and chunks of glass at various intervals. I sighed and looked at Sarah. She was looking out at the ocean and I was about eye level with her neck. The sound of the ocean waves crashing on rocks in the distance kind of soothed my trouble mind, but through it all, I still had the same questions on my mind... how long would I be this size? where had Jen gone, and what would I do in the meantime?

"I'm sorry..." I said, finally, getting Sarah's attention as she panned her eyes back towards me.

"Sorry about what?" she asked.

"Sorry that you got stuck taking care of me..." I sighed. "I'm glad you're taking it so well, but I mean, I'm pretty helpless like this, and well, I don't know how long you'll have to take care of me... so... thanks"

"No problem" Sarah said, giving me a warm smile, "I certainly wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you... I mean, no matter what size you were... but seeing you like this, well it certainly was shocking at first, but... I don't know, you're still the same friend you've always been and I shouldve treated you better in the beginning..."

"It's fine" I chuckled, "I am pretty funny looking"

"It's not that, it's just... different" Sarah said, "but you've always been different"

"This is true" I admitted.

"Well..." Sarah said, putting her hand a bit below her shoulder, "step on"

"Huh?"

"Well Im certainly not going to sit here all day" Sarah chuckled, leaving her hand before me, "now cmon, we got stuff to do"

"Like what?" I asked.

"You'll see" Sarah said, and I slowly stepped down from her shoulder and onto her hand. I lay down on her hand as she transferred me back down towards her purse, "is it okay if I keep you in here? I promise you won't be in there long"

"It's fine" I sighed and she put me inside her purse and zipped it halfway before walking again. I was beginning to get used to this lifestyle already and it had only been half an hour. I only hoped this wouldn't become a more permanent arrangement. Sarah had been as nice as could be hoped for, but others probably wouldn't be as nice if they saw me like this.

"So..." Sarah announced, after some time had gone by, "I was thinking we could go to the mall... what do you think? Up for a little road trip"

I looked out through the zipper slot to notice Sarah's car, vaguely. I sighed and finally said "sure"

"Excellent" Sarah said, opening the door to her car, "let's get going then..."

"Sure" I sighed with indifference, all the while thinking "Jen, where are you?"

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 17: A tiny predicament


Sarah takes me into her car and I instantly feel a dramatic increase in temperature... maybe it was because her purse had very little air circulation but it was more than likely because the 70 degree weather had thoroughly baked the interior of the car.

"S-Sarah..." I gasped, as the heat strangled me at every turn. I look up and hope to be let out soon. Finally, the zipper is slid to the right and Sarah gently removes me, setting me down on her cup holder. I sigh with relief. I was still hot, but not as hot, as she had cracked a window.

"Yeah, I know" Sarah said, fumbling for her key, "it's really hot in here"

I sigh and look way up at Sarah. From where I sat, her face was obscured by her arm reaching for the steering wheel.

"You okay?" Sarah asked, somehow picking up on my miniscule sigh as she turned the key to her car.

"Yeah, I suppose" I said, and stared down at the black plastic surfacing around me. The cup holder's rims came up to about my waist so I was pretty secure, and the small grooves on the edges provided me something to lean on, since I wasn't comfortable to just sit or lay down. Looking straight ahead, I can see the console of the car, rising above me like a skyscraper, topped by 2 massive air vents. Finally, Sarah speaks.

"So, you want some A/C?" she asked.

"Sure" I said, and leaned back, realizing it wouldn't do me much good right now. The air vents were several feet above my head and even on full blast, I'd only feel some of the residual air from the conditioning. Realizing this, Sarah cranes one of the vents down, but this produces an opposite effect. I feel myself get blasted by high speed air. "Sarah, tone it down"

"Oh sorry" Sarah said and cranked the A/C down a couple settings but she had been a bit too late. My hair was messed up beyond belief.

"Thanks..." I sigh and at this point the car had already been mobile, and we were now leaving the Avery Point parking lot, off for parts unknown. Okay, so I knew them, but I thought that'd sound more adventurous.

"So Bobby..." Sarah said, but it was harder to hear her with the wind and various vibrations around me. "We're still cool, right?"

"Huh?" I asked, and then returned my attention to her again, "yeah, of course"

"Okay, because..." Sarah began and I guess she went on some rambling speech about the importance of our friendship, because I can't remember too much more after that. My mind became entrenched in thoughts of Jen and life in general. Suddenly, Sarah's voice returned, "y'know what Im saying?"

"Yeah... sure" I said in a disrupted tone, and Sarah kinda frowned and looked away. "No, no, seriously I'm not mad at you, I was just..."

"No, it's okay" Sarah said, now focusing more on the road, which I guess is what she should be doing anyway, "I know you got a lot on your mind and all..."

"You said it, sister..."I said, all the while looking up at Sarah, well what I could see of her. She was so huge now, I couldn't even fathom that she was another human being. Her hand, rested on her lap, looked about twice the size of my body, and ... well I guess the whole experience made me greater appreciate my old 5'7 height.

"But don't worry Bobby" Sarah said, and suddenly perked up, "because I know you pretty well, and I know that you enjoy a good trip to the mall..."

"This is true" I replied.

"So with that said..." Sarah said, and slowed the car. "I present to you... the Crystal Mall!"

A few seconds went by before I looked up at her and said, "uh, y'know that I can't really see out the windows too well..."

"Oh right" she said, and gently rested her 2 cupped hands in front of me. I jumped in and she rose me up to the dashboard so I could see the giant mall in front of me... well actually the mall was always bigger than me, because that's how buildings are, but now it looked even more gargantuan.

"So what are we going to do here?" I finally asked.

"Well, you'll have to see... but first I do want to get some shopping done on my own" Sarah said, "Im sure you won't mind"

"I don't think I have a choice" I sighed.

"Nope" she smiled playfully and then slid me back into her purse which was now fully open so I had more air.

"Where are we going?" I shouted, having to yell straight up so Sarah could hear me through the purse.

"I'm going to Hollister's" Sarah explained, gently rocking the purse to and fro as she walked. It was at least a little easier to get used to this time around, and because I could see more clearly through the open purse, I didn't feel so much motion sickness.

"What's at Hollisters?" I asked, after a moment's hesitation.

"Clothes, silly" she answered, and walked in through the mall entrance. As we walked, I saw snippets of giant figures walking past us. Even little kids were much larger than me, from where I sat in Sarah's purse.
I look down at my phone and check for missed calls... nothing. Jen didn't even try to call me in all this time, and I had no idea where she was or what she was doing. I guess it didn't matter since I'd remain this small for as long as she was gone anyway but I still wish she would at least keep in touch like she said she would.

Maybe I didn't matter to her after all... I sighed, but then perished the thought from my mind. After all, based on how difficult it was for her to open up to anyone, the last week had shown me just how much she did care about me, and I'm the one who offered to do this for her, she never forced me into it. If being small was the price to pay for loving her, then so be it.

Still... I became worried as I continued to not hear from her.

"Okay Bobby" Sarah said, strolling into Hollister's, past the giant manequins, "we're here"

Of course, I would've known we were there even before she told me, just by hearing the up tempo music and smelling the musk of teenage perfume. Hollister's was exactly the opposite of the kind of stores I frequented. The only way in which I was trendy was in video games, and even that wasn't completely true as I often bought old school games from the 90s. Still, as long as I was safe and protected inside her purse, going to Hollister's was pretty inconsequential.

"Hey, what do you think of this one?" Sarah whispered, looking down at me in the purse. Obviously she hadn't wanted to draw a lot of attention to the tiny figure dwelling in her purse. From where I stood, I saw her holding up a large red tank top with sequins around the neck line.

"It looks nice" I said, although in actuality, they all looked the same to me, especially hollister's clothing, where they shamelessly plaster their name all over the shirts.

"Well, I got a few options" Sarah said, revealing a few more shirts she had cradled in her arms. Again, I had no opinion to offer here, "well I guess the only way to know for sure is to try them on"

"You mean we're going to the fitting rooms?" I asked, as I felt her change direction with her purse.

"Duh" she chuckled, and we walked into a more silent area which I deduced to be the fitting room. She set the purse in the corner of the room and hung some shirts on a rack. "Now, Bobby, can I trust you not to peek?"

"Of course" I said.

"Hmm..." she said and then gave me a slight smile. "I know you too well Bobby, I don't even want to tempt you"

"Huh?" I gasped and then noticed the zipper rapidly closing out the light for me, "wait NO!"

I sighed when I realized she had zippered the purse completely shut, so now I was really trapped. I honestly wasn't going to look... okay maybe a peek... but now I could barely see anything. I decide to give myself some light to open my cell phone, and I also double check for calls or texts from Jen. I decided, at last, to send her a text.

"Hey, how r u?" i wrote and closed my phone. Yeah it was dorky, but I had to open a dialogue somehow. I had only hoped that she was really happy because I sure wasn't doing too well on my end.

"Okay, you can look now" Sarah said.

"Uh.. it's not really up to me" I sighed, still looking up at darkness.

"Oh right" she said, "sorry"

She unzipped the purse and I was nearly floored by how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a denim skirt with the red tank top. Her legs stretched upwards like tree trunks until they were concealed by the denim, and from there, the vibrant red of her tank top stood out and brought out the tan complexion of her skin. Even though I couldn't see her face too well from my position, her eyes definitely complimented the ensemble.

"You like?" she asked.

I had no idea what to say.

"Okay, keep your tongue in, Bobby" Sarah laughed and then rezipped the purse, getting changed again.

"I guess I'll go with this red one" I heard her say through the purse. After some time passed, she said, "okay, Bobby, I'm ready to go"


"Joy" I said, as she slightly unzipped the purse again so I could see.

"Oh cmon, it wasnt that bad" Sarah said, "normally I spend hours in here"

As Sarah rang out her latest clothing purchase, I became all too curious and looked down at my cell phone again. At least my phone had inexpliquably shrunk down with me. It was nice to hold something in MY hand for a change. Unfortunately, Jen hadn't replied back yet. I hoped nothing happened to her, which is ironic, because I only used to worry about her when she was fairy sized and now I was the one trapped in a purse.

"Hey Bobby, I have an idea" Sarah said suddenly.

"Yeah?" I asked, partly interested, partly scared, as usual.

"Well would it be more roomy for you if I put you in my shopping bag, instead of my purse?" Sarah asked.

"Hmm..." I said contemplating it. It probably would be since she had a rather large white bag. The bag was deep too so I wouldn't feel as prone to falling out, plus unlike the purse, it didn't hang haphazardly from her shoulder. "Sure"

"Okay, just give me a second" Sarah said, and I heard her open and close a few doors before squatting down somewhat. I then realized we were in the ladies room.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, kind of surprised.

"I just needed a private place to make the transfer" Sarah said and slowly lifted me from the purse, "now hang on, this may be bumpy"

Sarah slid me into the bag and it was about a 10 foot drop for me as I slid down the edges of the paper bag. I landed awkrardly and collapsed into a pile of clothing.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah fine" I said, and looked up through the clothes, eventually surfacing myself to the top to see through the top of the bag. Too bad all I could see was Sarah at an angle and the ceiling. "So now where are we?"

"In one of your favorite stores" Sarah said, "Macy's... more specifically the furniture department"

"Ah right..." I said, although it didn't do me much good to observe the furniture I usually browsed through if I was being held captive in a shopping bag. "But now what are we going to do?"

"Well now... we're gonna go for a ride"

"Huh?"

"Whee!" Sarah squeaked and suddenly took off running, trying to give me some kind of thrill ride.

"Sarah!!" I screamed, being tossed backwards into some shirts.

"Oh calm down" Sarah said, still skipping along the path. I guess there had been noone in her way. "It's not like... whoa!"

"Sarah?" I asked and then felt a jarring thud and was thrown nearly out of the bag. Actually, I was out of the bag as clothes spilled all over the floor.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry" Sarah said.

"It's okay, it's fine" the other girl chuckled, but I couldn't see either of them from where I was. I had been tangled up in a shirt and was feeling very claustophobic. I wanted to scream for help, but I didn't want to startle the other girl.

"Okay, here this was mine..." the other girl said and began picking some things up. Sarah too was picking things up and then I felt myself get lifted, shirt and all up towards another bag. I landed in the bag with an awkrard thump and slowly stirred. I had to finagle myself out of the clothes or I may suffocate. Sarah could be so clumsy sometimes.

I throw a bunch of shirts away from my body, and finally shove a long red sleeve off me as if it were a python and scream, "Hey Sarah, I told you that was a bad idea!"

Suddenly, my bag stopped moving altogether. I couldn't tell if I had pissed off Sarah or what.

"S-Sarah?" I asked again, feeling nervous. Why wasn't she answering? I looked down and saw a lime green t-shirt and black jeans. Those weren't Sarah's clothes...

"S-Sarah?" I asked again, hoping that what I thought had happened, hadn't just happened, but the continued silence only confirmed my fears. I then looked down at my cell phone which was vibrating. The screen read "INCOMING CALL: SARAH"

"Bobby?" I heard a female voice say. It was the other girl... oh no. It couldn't be.

KIM?!?!

She set the bag down and I backed away nervous, trying to hide under the t-shirt or anything, but I was too late. From my position I saw a smiling black haired girl staring down at me with joy. It was Kim!

"Oh, this is TOO perfect!" she chuckled, and reached her hand into the bag.

"No, please, stop!" I gasped, but it was too late. She had grasped me around the waist like Sarah had before, except she showed no mercy in hoisting me up before her staring brown eyes.

"This is great!" she laughed, "my ex-boyfriend is reduced to nothing but a toy!"

"K-Kim, please..." I said, unable to even speak to her. Part of me was still furious at her for everything she had done in the past but a bigger part of me was terrorfied by what she had planned for the future...

"Ha, this is great" she repeated and leaned against a wall with me in her palm. "So how'd you get so small huh?"

I hated this, even when we were going out, Kim used to like to rub things in your face... like if something bad happened to you she always wanted to tease you about it and know everything about it... well not this time. I folded my arms in defiance and turned away from her jeering face.

"HUH? HOW'D YOU GET SO SMALL, BOBBY?" she laughed, "look at you, so tiny! I could just squish you right now... how'd it happen, huh? How'd you get so tiny and small?"

"Stop it!" I shouted, "I'm not gonna tell you, I don't have to tell you, stop bullying me and leave me alone!"


"Wrong answer!" she chuckled and suddenly threw me several feet into the air and caught me.

"Noooo!" I screamed, landing sideways back onto her hand, feeling dizzy.

"This is fun!" Kim said, and threw me up into the air again, barely catching me this time. "So ya gonna tell me?"

The truth was, at that point I could barely even talk. As I flipped around in midair, I let out a scream as my cell phone fell out of my pocket, landing on the hard floor below and shattering.

"Aw, ain't that a shame..." Kim chuckled and this time gave me a moment to rest. "So... you gonna tell me?"

"NO!!" I asked, tears had been in my eyes now, both from stress and from the wind blowing in them from all the tossing. "I hope you're enjoying this..."

"Oh I am" Kim smiled and wrapped her whole hand around me, so only my legs were free to kick in mid-air, but to no avail. "I hope you stay this size forever. I hope you stay tiny forever"

As she spoke, I began to fear that might be a possibility. With my cell phone shattered and no way to get in touch with Jen, I'd have no way to reverse this, and Kim wasn't gonna just let me go.

"Wouldn't that be great?" Kim smiled, but I could only stare at her, appalled and scared. "If you stayed tiny forever? I think that'd be great"

"No, I don't think thatd be great" I sighed, and finally started to choke up a little. I hadn't talked to Kim for months and this was the first time I had seen her for a while and hopefully the last. "I only did this..."

I then stopped talking altogether. I didn't want to tell Kim about the story behind this. Instead I just let a single tear trickle from my eyes and splash onto her hand.

"Oh geez, are you actually crying?" Kim sighed, and suddenly began losing some of her mean streak. I mean, we had dated for 2 years so she probably didn't want me to actually get hurt. "Look, just tell me how it happened"

"No" I said again, giving her a sort of glare as I turned away. She still had me grasped pretty tightly and could pretty much do whatever she wanted to me, but I didn't care. It was embarassing enough that she had to see me like this and even more embarassing that she was seeing me cry. I wasn't going to tell her anything more than that.

"Fine" Kim said, sounding more serious this time, but still angry, "but if you won't tell me how it happened, don't expect me to try to help you"

"Help me? But you..."

"Nope, forget it" Kim sighed and dropped me back in her bag. I stared up in shock. Why hadn't she kept torturing me? She said nothing else for a while and I was left with nothing but my thoughts and my tears.

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 18: Small revelations

The silence on the way back to Kim's car -- at least I assumed that's where she was taking me, probably to have some not so pleasant alone time with me -- was both soothing and frightening. On one hand, it was nice to be left alone for a change.

My life had entered into so much chaos when I became fairy sized, between Sarah constantly poking and prodding at me and just the constant commotion of being carried around everywhere. Sure, even now, Kim's bag gently rocked, with me nestled in between her green t-shirt and slacks, but I didn't really notice too much, and I was very frightened of what Kim would do to me now.

As I'm moving, I lean forward somewhat to try to see Kim, see if she looked angry, happy or whatever but I couldn't tell. I could only see up the side of her arm and her hair left her face concealed from my point of view. She seemed more than pleased to see me so tiny, but for some reason, I still wasn't going to beg for mercy... after all, I had spent enough time doing that during our relationship.

Of course, now with my cell phone destroyed, I had no idea how I'd get in touch with Jen again... if I told Kim about all this, she'd probably laugh at me and then do everything in her power to ensure I never saw Jen again, so that I could stay this size forever... why couldn't just one thing work out the way I planned?

Before I could continue my inner monologue, I felt an abrupt stop and was cast back into the shirts, hugging the sleeve for protection. I gasped and looked up to see Kim once again sneering down at me.

"So..." she began, lifting the bag up and placing it on the floor of her passenger seat, "are you gonna tell me?"

I sighed and looked away before saying "can you please just stop? I told you I didn't want to tell you..."

As I spoke, I cautiously looked up at Kim, not sure whether or not to see anger or sadness or whatever emotions she had. What she ended up saying kind of shocked me, considering the person I knew her as.

"Fine" she shrugged and plugged her key into the ignition, starting her car, which awoke with a great bellow. I looked up at her puzzled... why did she all of a sudden not care?

Then it hit me.

This was just another mind game she liked to play... she thought if she acted like she didn't care to know, I'd spill my guts to her, like some form of reverse psychology... well I wasn't biting... then again, who was I kidding? Whether I told her or not, I was screwed... there was no way out of this. But telling her would only give her the satisfaction of once again breaking me down. Ugh...

"So..." Kim said, after moments of silence had passed, "you uh... like being small?"

Obviously that was some kind of joke.

"No... no I don't" I said, deciding to play along for now.

"So then... how'd it happen?" Kim asked again, this time not in her usual teasing way but in a more sincere way. I looked up at her with conflicting thoughts in my head... to tell her or not to tell her...

"I'm...not gonna say" I said finally, unable to look her in the eye. Just then the car jerked to a stop. I looked up at her, startled and confused.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous!" Kim shouted, after having pulled us over to the side of the road, angrily glaring down at my helpless self in her shopping bag.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you heard me! I find you freakin' 3 inches tall and you won't even tell me how it HAPPENED!" Kim shouted.

"What does it matter?" I asked.

"It matters because..."

"Because?"

"Because I freakin' care about you, okay?" Kim shouted. "I know you got this THING against me... I guess I can't blame you, but yknow what, if I was in YOUR situation, I'd definitely want some help, but no you can't even put the past behind you for 2 SECONDS, to tell me how this happened to you... you weren't even going to ask me for help"

"Well I'm sorry the first thing on my mind wasn't 'hey let me call my good buddy KIM up now that I'm tiny'!" I shouted. I didn't mean to get angry at her but I was.

"Ugh forget it, you're hopeless" Kim said, and pulled back onto the main road, "you know that? You're absolutely hopeless..."

"Yeah yeah" I said, and turned away, burying myself under the sleeve of the t-shirt. I didn't even want to look at her right now. I just wanted to hide away and hoped this would all end soon, and I'd wake up regular sized again, with Jen normal sized too. Then we'd go out together and we could have a great time and I wouldn't have to think about Kim or any of this stress.



Of course, it wouldn't be that easy... a few minutes later, Kim arrives at her house, which isn't the same place I remembered.

"You moved?" I asked, as she picked up the shopping bag.

"Yeah, maybe you'd know that if you ever talked to me..." Kim sighed, "I moved out of my parents' place last year, I'm living on my own here"

"Oh... that's... nice" I said, feeling bad for snapping at her earlier. I still refused to tell her anything more than what I already had though.

Kim left the bag on the ground in front of her door and fumbled for her house keys. Finally she stopped and glared down at me again.

"Actually... yknow what?" she said, in kind of a pissed off tone. She knelt down and reached her into the bag again. I looked up at her with fear but assumed she wouldn't seriously hurt me, so I was a bit more willing to be picked up this time. She lifted me up around the waist and stared at me. I tried to keep my calm, but my heart was racing. I had no idea what she had in mind right now.

"Wh-what are you gonna do to me?" I asked finally. She wasn't smiling or frowning, she was just staring.

"Nothing" she said.

"Huh?"

"Well if you're not gonna tell me anything why should I? Why should I bother even being your friend?" Kim asked.

"Friend? What friend? Kim, we haven't talked for a year and a half" I said.

"Yeah because you won't let us" Kim answered, "and even so, you were always stubborn, I mean look at you, 3 inches tall and you won't even ask me for help... that's all you gotta do, just ask me for help..."

A few moments passed.

"I'm not asking you to beg me... I'm not even asking you to like me..." Kim said, "just ask me for help, say 'Kim I need your help', that's all you gotta do"

I looked away with a scowl on my face. I wasn't going to play into her talk. She acted nice now but the second I told her anything, the mockery would begin again. I could never trust her.

"Okay, okay, fine" Kim said and walked off to her front yard, setting me down somewhere in the tall grass.

"Wh-What are you doing?" I asked, looking up at her and then around at my surroundings which consisted of mostly darkness between the tall stalks of grass.

"I'm giving up... since you obviously have" Kim said, and now stood all the way up, so she stood several feet higher than me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm leaving you here, Bobby, that's it" Kim said, "have a nice life"

"You can't be serious" I said, beginning to get nervous. I wouldn't last more than a day out in this yard and with no way to contact anyone, I was trapped. If I even tried to escape the yard, I'd have to cross the street and get massacred by oncoming traffic.

"Oh but I am" Kim said, and then flashed me a smile as she walked off.

As she started walking over, the feeling of anxiety inside me grew. I didn't even care about Jen at this point, or Kim, or anyone in particular... I just wanted to scream. I just wanted to survive. I didn't want to become food for some bigger animal and I certainly didn't want to die in Kim's front yard.

"KIM WAIT!!" I screamed, the words unable to hold themselves in any longer. She turned back.

"Yes, little Bobby?" she said, knowing her ploy had been victorious. Whether she was bluffing or not, I didn't want to risk my life about some silly feud I had with her. I at least knew that whatever humiliation she had in mind for me wouldn't kill me.

"K-Kim... I... I..."

"I'm listening" she said, smiling as she folded her arms and looked down at me in the grass.

"I...I... need your help" I said and hung my head in shame.

"Yes" she said, "Yes you do"

I then stayed silent before saying, "...but... I don't blame you if you don't want to help me..."

She then got down on her knees and looked at me before she smiled. She put her hand down in front of me and said "get on"

I looked up at her questioningly.

"C'mon, I haven't got all day" she chuckled. I continued to look up at her face even as I stumbled onto her hand. She lifted me gently and brought me inside the house.

She flicked on the light switch and her house actually was pretty nice from inside.

"Not a bad place..." I said, still feeling incredibly jarred by everything that had just happened.

She set the bag down on the counter and said, "Thanks"

She then proceeded to put me down on her kitchen counter as she went towards her refridgerator.

"So... you hungry?" she asked.

"A little, actually... it's been hard to eat since... well... yknow" I said.

"Oh I do... well tell ya what, I'll cut us an apple, but first..." she said, and then squatted down so her face was level with the counter, "first, you gotta tell me how this happened to you..."

I sighed.

"C'mon... pleeease?" she said in a childish voice. I kinda laughed and finally decided to give in.

"Okay, but is it okay if I leave out names?" I asked.

"Fine whatever, just go" Kim said.

"Ok... well there was this girl..." I started.

"Ooh, do tell" Kim said.

"Oh... nothing serious, I just y'know... was kinda crushing on her and..."

"Ooh what was her name?" she asked in anticipation.

"I said I'm not using names" I repeated.

"Fine fine" Kim sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway this girl wasn't like other girls... she was kinda... well... smaller..." I explained.

"You mean YOUR height" Kim smiled.

"Yes... my height... anyway, I met her one day at Avery Point and... I don't know, for some reason I just really took to her" I continued.

"You mean, you were in LOVE with a girl that was 3 inches tall?" Kim asked.

"Yes..."

"So you wanted to go out with her then?" Kim asked.

"Yeah... I kinda did..." I said, drifting off.

"WAIT... if she was 3 inches tall, and you were normal height... how could you 2...?"

"OK, ENOUGH!" I shouted, although that question baffled me as well. "Anyway, I was..."

"I mean, if you made out with her, you'd pretty much EAT her... gross..." Kim said, continuing her previous ramble.

"Okay I get it!" I said "Can I finish..."

"Okay okay"

"Anyway..." I said, and then took a couple seconds to make sure Kim didn't have any moe disgusting questions, "I really cared for her and it was her birthday...today actually..."

"So then why aren't you with her?" Kim asked.

"Well... see, this is kinda my... gift... to her" I sighed, not really sure how to explain this next part. "I guess I should've mentioned in the beginning... this girl... is a ... um... fairy"

"A fairy?" Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, and in fairy tradition... I guess it's possible for..."

"So hold on hold on, this girl told you she was a FAIRY?" Kim asked.

"Yes, for the last freakin time, she's a fairy" I said.

"Wow, and I thought I was gullible" Kim said.

"Well if you look at me... it's not that hard to believe... she was once my size, but we switched..." I explained.

"You mean...?"

"Yes, I let her be my size, in exchange I became HER size, that's the short version of it..." I sighed.

"Looks to me like YOU'RE the short version of it" Kim chuckled.

"Ok, enough, stop laughing at me" I said.

"I'm sorry but... Bobby..." she said, finally, actually sounding serious but then she stopped talking.

"What?" I said, looking up at her again.

"Bobby... I don't know how to tell you this, but..."

"Just say it!" I shouted.

"You got tricked" Kim said.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh c'mon, do I have to spell it out for you?" Kim said, "some girl you barely know who's 3 inches high says she's a fairy..."

"Well how many 3 inch people do you know that AREN'T fairies?" I asked, and then realized that made no sense at all.

"Bobby, fairies arent real... fairies are in Peter Pan and cartoons... I don't know what she is, but she sure was clever..." Kim explained.

"What do you mean, clever?" I asked.

"Ugh it's so obvious! But then again you werent good at reading girls and their motives..." Kim continued.

"What motives?"

"Think about this for a second... she was tiny... you were big... you liked her, she probably picked up on that..." Kim explained, and so far she made sense, "so...?"

"So...?"

"Bobby, she tricked you... she knew you'd do this for her... so now you're STUCK tiny and she's running around, freakin 6 feet tall!" Kim said.

"5'6..." I said.

"Whatever, the point is... you're screwed, I'm not trying to be mean..." Kim said.

"I'm not screwed..." I said, getting defensive.

"Oh really?" Kim asked, getting kinda sarcastic now, "Bobby... if this girl cared about you SOOO much, why isn't she with you? Where is she?"

"I... I don't know..." I said, suddenly feeling frozen. I then started to feel myself sinking inside... Kim was right. Where had she gone?

"Did she say how long you'd have to stay small?" Kim asked.

"A... A day or two..." I answered.

"Yeah, that's not happening..." Kim said.

"What do you mean? You don't even know her!" I shouted.

"I don't have to know her, because I have common sense!" Kim yelled, "Bobby... if someone's 5'6 or whatever, they're not going to go up to you and say 'hi, little person, I'd really like to be 3 inches tall'! Now you did it, because you'll fall for any pretty face, but she's not going to! She'd be stupid to do that, noone's gonna become tiny if they have a choice!"

"Th-thats not true..." I shuddered, and realized Kim may have been right. Jen hated being small so much... but would she have done this to me on purpose. I'm the one who forced it out of her... she didn't want to... but Kim was right... where had Jen gone? I begin to get very afraid, so Kim changes the subject.

"Hey, I'll get us that apple now..." Kim said and took out a granny smith apple from her fridge, before turning on the sink, "I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything... I just... don't know if I can help you..."

"Well just let me use your phone and call her... and then we'll see... I'll tell her what happened and we'll set things right..." I said, but I was more of just trying to calm myself down.

"Okay, you can call her in a second" Kim said, cutting up the apple, "but first, hold on tight"

"Huh, for what?" I asked, and then I yelped as Kim put her hands around my waist suddenly and startled me. She lifted me up and put me on the plate next to the giant apple slices, before taking me to her arm chair in the living room. She set me down nearby.

"Hope I didn't spook ya too much" Kim smiled and seemed to be more of joking than trying to hurt me.

"No... no you didnt" I answered, but was unable to force a laugh myself. I had been tricked by girls before, and ironically one of those girls was sitting right before me.

"Here, here's my cell phone" Kim said, and laid it down on the table. "Do you want me to dial it for ya?"

"No" I said, defensively, as I walked over to the cell phone, flipping it open with all my strength, "I can do it"

"Whatever you say" Kim said and turned on her TV. She began flipping through channels as I dialed Jen's number. It rang many times.

"Oh wow, they found this girl..." Kim said, suddenly absorbed in the news, "she'd been missing for a while...thought she was dead"

I barely paid attention as I waited for Jen to pick up, but got nowhere... suddenly the phone went to voicemail.

"Hi, you've reached the voicemail of Jen, please leave a message..."

I sighed and hung up.

"Her name is Jen?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, Jen..." I said, looking up at Kim, "why?"

"I don't suppose her last name is... Crandall..." Kim asked.

I actually had no clue what her last name was... for some reason it never came up.

"Wh-Why would you ask that?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Uh... you better watch this" Kim said, and pointed to the TV. On the news was the following headline.

"JENNY CRANDALL, AGE 19, FOUND BY PARENTS TODAY"

On the screen, news reporters were interviewing someone's tearful parents. Then the camera panned over, and revealed her... JEN.

"What...the...hell...?"

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 19: Miniature Apologies

"Young Jenny Crandall went missing in 2006..." the newscaster read, "and police gave up the search in early 2008 after there was no evidence of a body or any trace of her for almost 2 years... now she's mysteriously resurfaced, although sources say, she's still too distraught to tell anyone about the cause of her dissapearance..."

Then the camera panned over again to show the "fairy" named Jenny Crandall.

"I'm just so happy to be back with my family" she said, through tearful eyes as she looked up at her mom and smiled, "It's been a very trying 3 years but I'm glad to be back with my loved ones..."

Finally, Kim muted the TV and looked down at me sitting on her table, alongside her recliner. I stared at the TV with a blank stare, before I finally hung my head in shame.

"Bobby?" she said, "Are you...okay?"

I didn't answer, I just let myself collapse into a sitting position and watched Jen speak through a muted TV screen, all the while wondering just what was going on. I couldn't believe it...

My heart turned to glass in that moment, and every second I watched Jen's testimony on TV was another stone being cast. I really didn't want Kim or anyone to see me cry but I could almost take no more... the one girl I thought was a good friend of mine, that I thought I could trust... and now I was most likely stuck doll sized forever for it.

"Bobby? C'mon... snap out of it!" I heard Kim say, temporarily breaking my state of depression. I looked up at her and gave her the fakest smile I've given anyone.

"I'm fine" I said, and then turned my attention back towards the TV.

"Hmmm..." Kim sighed, also watching the TV attentively, with sound still turned off. Just then, the camera angle panned out to show their house... a 2 story bricked house with a well manicured yard. Kim suddenly froze the picture.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just getting a good luck at this house... it looks familiar..." Kim said, "did she tell you where she lives?"

"No, Kim, she didn't tell me anything... besides the fact that she was a fairy named JEN" I sighed, and hid my face from view.

"Bobby, you're gonna have to help me out here if you expect to ever return to normal size" Kim said.

"What's the point?" I sighed, and at this point I was crying but I didn't want her to see. "Even if I find her... I can't ask her to give up her family so that I can be tall again..."

"But what about YOUR family?" Kim asked, "what about your friends? What about YOURSELF? Geez, Bobby... you can't give all that up because of some girl..."

Kim was right, and yet, actually seeing Jen truly happy was refreshing for a change. She probably wasn't even thinking about me, or Avery Point, or any of the times we spent together... not that I blamed her... it mustve been nice to finally be back together with her family.

"Okay, I got an idea" Kim said, standing up, "since you don't seem to be thinking of anything"

"Huh? Where are you going?" I asked, standing up and looking up at her.

"I'm going to my computer..." Kim explained, "certainly, if this was such a big news story back in 2006, she must be from around here, and there must be a way to find out where she lives..."

"Isn't that stalking?" I asked.

"It's either stalking, or you spend the rest of your life at that size..." Kim sighed, "pick one"

"Okay... the first one..." I sighed, and then watched Kim continue walking away before I said, "HEY! Don't forget me!"

"Oh sorry" she said, and left her hand under the table so I'd have a good position to climb onto it. The whole time though, I was partly paranoid that she'd move her hand at the last second and I'd faceplant into her carpet. Luckily she didn't do that. I looked up at her and smiled nervously. I felt like I had to be grateful for what Kim was doing for me. Ironically, if Sarah still had me in her possession, I probably WOULD have stayed small forever... not that I was guaranteed anything now. At the same time, there was something about this whole thing that was very unsettling... Kim and I hadn't gotten along for such a long time... why would she be so intent on helping me? And worse yet, if I couldn't be restored to normal, despite her best efforts, would I be forced to live out the rest of my existence as her pet? I look up at her nervously and wonder, before she finally sets me down on her mouse pad, which feels like shag carpetting.

Kim sat down at her computer and let out a heavy sigh. I looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing" she said.

"C'mon, what's the matter?" I said, standing up and looking more serious this time.

She smiled and said, "Why should I tell you?"

"Oh, just tell me" I said.

"Ok ok..." Kim said, as her computer booted up, "I just think this whole thing is kinda... sad..."

"Well, no duh it's sad..." I sighed.

"No, you didn't let me finish" Kim continued, "I think it's sad that you had to be shrunk and come in contact with me to ever talk to me again... I mean, we were friends for 4 years and we dated for 2 of them..."

"Yeah..." I said, glancing down at the mouse pad. I had to admit she was right, but in all honesty, making up with Kim wasn't my top priority at the moment.


"Anyway..." Kim said, her mouth transforming into a monotone serious state, devoid of emotion, "it's no big deal... let's just figure this out..."

I frowned and looked down. Kim had been nice enough to take me into her house and was trying everything she could to help me regain my normal size. I owed her something for all of her efforts.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered, my eyes still focuses on the outer edge of her mouse pad as I spoke.

"Huh?" Kim said, pausing the movement of her mouse.

"Nothing" I sighed and let her continue her research, even if what she was trying to find was beyond me at this point.

"Okay... I think I got it!" Kim exclaimed, "She lives in Groton, about 10 minutes from Avery Point!"

"That would explain how she got on the news so fast..." I mumbled.

"Okay..." Kim said, very methodical as she took out a scrap of paper and jotted down the address, "all we need to do is find this place..."

A few seconds went by before I finally added, "and then what?"

Kim sighed, and leaned her head against her hands as she propped her elbows onto the desk. The vibration startled me for a second, but I got over it quickly. I looked up at her and she looked down at me with a sad look in her eyes.

"Bobby... I don't know if this will work, to be honest..." Kim said, speaking softly as her voice cracked. "All I can do is drive you there, and hopefully you can get a chance to talk to her, and maybe... just maybe, she'll have the heart to change you back, but... I just don't know..."

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking up at Kim. She leaned back in surprise, taking her elbows off the desk.

"Am I okay?" she asked, startled, "since when do you care if I'm okay? I mean, even in normal circumstances you never cared, but you actually have a serious problem, and me... I'm just..."

"Just what?"

"Just letting my emotions get the best of me" Kim said and flashed me an extra wide smile. I frowned and then quickly adjusted my mouth into a smile as well, but I had no idea why either of us were smiling.

"So..." I sighed, letting my mind drift back to the problem at hand, "When are we doing this...plan?"

"We'll strike in the morning" Kim said.

"Oh..." I said, kind of nervous.

"Yeah... you don't...mind? Do you?" Kim asked, "if you sleep over for the night, I think I'll find room for you, maybe a nice cozy drawer"

"I'm a bit claustophobic" I warned.

"I know, I was kidding" Kim smiled, this time a seemingly real one, "You're fun to mess with sometimes"

"Heh I guess I am" I said, realizing that I tended to panic more often than not. Then Kim suddenly snatched me up from the back of my shirt. I looked down and watched the ground get further and further away.

"You ARE kinda cute like that though" she winked, "maybe if this whole Jen thing doesnt work out..."

"Kim..." I said, giving her a serious glare.

"Kidding, kidding, relax!" Kim smiled and I felt kinda weird looking at her then. She had been an attractive girl and being this close up allowed me to see every detail in her face and her brown eyes. Normally brown eyes tend to look like marbles, but at this moment they seemed filled with some kind of warmness. I quickly shake off this feeling, realizing my focus should be on much more important things.

"So... what do you want to do now, little guy?" Kim asked, beginning to return to her childish ways with me, which worried me a bit, but then she added, "and don't worry, I won't hurt ya"

"I...I... don't know" I said, and then looked down again, getting dizzy, "but first could you set me down?"

"You gotta say pleease..." Kim smiled.

"Ok...please" I sighed, realizing that she was trying to get my mind off Jen by playing around.

"Ok..." Kim said and swung me around a little. I looked at her confused and then said "down you go!"

Kim dropped me from about a height of 3 feet and I was surprised to land between her partly exposed breasts, so that I was snugly captured between her cleavage.

"Oops" Kim smiled, her face getting red, "I'm so clumsy"

"You did that on purpose!" I said, looking up at her, my face also red, but it did feel nice to be under her shirt. Her breasts kind of felt like having 2 mats on either side, but at least I knew I wouldn't fall. Finally she reached down for me carefully and plucked me out of the small space.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist" Kim giggled, "I know you've always had a boob fetish"

"This is true" I smile, but I also felt very awkrard at the same time. I had to give her credit though, for those few moments, I HAD forgotten about Jen and my crisis.

Nighttime fell sooner rather and than later and Kim set me down on her dresser by her bed.

"Hey, I'll be right back, gotta change" Kim said and left the room, leaving me on her dresser alone. I still had that unsettling feeling in my stomach as I waited for her, but it had subsided considerably. If she was going to do something horrible to me by now, she would've done it. I lean up against her cup of water and sigh. What if this WAS how I'd spend the rest of my life? Would I be presumed missing or dead by the police? Why would I be living in a rain gutter or cave somewhere? Or would Kim take me in and build me a dollhouse? Either option didn't appease me very much.

"Oh and hey" Kim said, from behind the bathroom door, "don't worry about your friend, Sarah, I called her and let her know you were staying with me"

"Ah..." I said, half baffled by that statement. I didn't know Kim knew Sarah or vice versa. Finally I had to bring it up "...you know Sarah?"

"Yeah, we used to be friends... still are, kinda" Kim said, still getting changed.

"So then..."

"So then what?" Kim asked.

"So when you bumped into Sarah and found me small... why didnt you...?" I asked, and as my thoughts unraveled, I began to see what was going on... "wait a minute!"

"Okay okay..." Kim sighed and finally opened the bathroom door, wearing a maroon tank top and fuzzy black pants. She laid down on the bed and looked at me. "I have to confess..."

"You finding me was no accident, was it?" I sighed.

"Nope" Kim smiled, "I've been asking about you a lot when I talk to Sarah..."

"Why?"

"Because you and her are friends so I figure she'll know how you're doing..." Kim explained.

"But why would you CARE how I'm doing?" I asked.

"I've always cared, it's you who didn't care..." Kim said, "You haven't been the same towards me... since..."

Kim and I remained silent.

"Is he...still around?" I asked, finally working up the nerve to ask.

"Who, Dan?" Kim asked. I nodded.

"No... he took off a while ago..." Kim frowned. I looked up at her with a confused look on my face.

"Ah..." I said, feeling my confusion convert to anger.

"Ah what?" Kim sighed, "I don't always know what you're thinking, yknow!"

"Well it's just that, once Dan left the picture... AGAIN... you suddenly decide to pester me with text messages and phone calls every day" I yelled, "a little convenient, dont you think?"

"Hey, stop yelling at me, you jerk!" Kim snapped, "You should be lucky I didn't squish you when you I had the chance!"

I backed away afraid.

"Yeah, thats right!" Kim shouted, "I tried to talk to you whether I was with him or not, you just ignored my calls every time..."

I still remained hiding behind Kim's lamp.

"...why Bobby?" she asked finally, "why did you ignore my calls, why do you hate me so much?"

I finally felt the anger well up inside me for one last time. I had been waiting 2 years for this so I was going to let her have it, whether I was tiny or not.

"WHY? BECAUSE YOU CHEATED ON ME TWICE WITH HIM, AND AFTER YOU TOLD ME YOU'D NEVER DO IT AGAIN, YOU DID ANYWAY!!" I screamed, "AND BOTH TIMES YOU FREAKIN ACTED LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL, AND LEFT ME SO DISTRAUGHT BOTH TIMES, LIKE NOTHING WE DID TOGETHER EVER MEANT ANYTHING!!"

Kim looked up at me with a pensive look on her face. She stared me over for a long time. Finally she reached over with a finger and patted me softly on the head.

"I love you so..."

"NO!! GET AWAY FROM ME!" I said, backing away from her finger, "I'm not your pet, I'm not your THING, and I'm certainly not your FRIEND!"

I then sighed and stepped back, glaring up at her as she looked at me with confusion and sadness in her eyes. Finally she buried her head in the pillow.


"K-Kim?" I asked nervously.

"Leave me alone" she said, her voice distorted from the pillow.

"Kim... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..." I sighed, "you were always one of my most reliable friends..."

"Just leave me alone..." she repeated.

"Kim... I'm sorry..." I sighed again.

"I'm sorry too..." Kim said, after a few moments of silence.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry I cheated on you... I'm sorry I blew you off so many times in the past" Kim said and then sat up, her face red from crying. "I deserved that... and you have every right to get mad at me... but know this, I will still do everything I can do make you normal size again, and if I can't, then it's your choice what happens to you... because even if you don't care, I care and I wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to you..."

"Kim..." I sighed. I thought I'd feel vindicated after screaming my guts out at her, but I felt just the opposite.

"I just... made a mistake, okay, you ever make a mistake?" Kim said, suddenly cutting me off with something completely different, "I used to think of you as boring, and you panicked about EVERYTHING, it got to be a pain being your girlfriend, I'm sorry but that's the truth... and Dan was older, and stronger and just... I don't know... confident, but I realize now that wasn't a good reason to get rid of a really nice guy, which you are... you're a really nice guy, Bobby"

"Heh and a really short guy..." I sighed. "Look at me... I'm such a freak"

"You're not a freak" Kim said, "I don't care what size you are..."

I turned away and sighed. The fact was, no amount of discussing it would make the problem go away. I had to hope that Jen would let me return to normal size, and if not... well that would be it. Maybe there were worse things than being in Kim's captivity.

"So... let me ask you something..." I said. "Did you PLAN this?"

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

"Well, you knew Sarah had me in her possession and you...?"

"Yeah" she frowned, "I'm REALLY sorry, but I had no choice... she told me about your predicament, and I... I don't know... I thought it'd be a good chance to apologize..."

"So then... you... already knew how I got shrunk?" I asked.

"No, actually, Sarah didn't tell me that, she just told me you had been shrunk down to a doll size and were... as she said 'fun to play with'" Kim explained, "if you're gonna get mad at anyone, get mad at her"

I sighed and said, "I'm not a doll..."

"I know... and... I'm really sorry..." Kim sighed.

"About what?"

"About telling you I wanted you to stay small forever... I would never want that..." Kim sighed.

"Well you sure convinced me..." I sighed.

"No, its not true though" Kim said, "in fact..."

"What?"

"Remember how I told you noone would be dumb enough to switch sizes with you at this point?" Kim asked.

"yeah?"

"Well... I would..." Kim sighed.

"You would?"

"Yeah... I mean, I'd most definitely hate it... but not as much as I hate seeing you like this..." Kim said, and then laid back down on her bed.

"Kim, you don't have to do that..." I said, "I don't even think you can"

"Well thats a relief!" Kim chuckled, "I wouldn't want to go through THAT... kidding, Bobby"

"I... I know" I said and was forced to laugh myself, even if she did have a cruel sense of humor sometimes. "I'm just wondering...about this whole thing... how can I possibly ask Jen to give up her family...for me?"

"You just gotta do it" Kim said, "you cant let people walk all over you... you let me walk all over you, and now you're letting her... you need to stand up for yourself... because quite frankly, Bobby... at your size, people WILL walk all over you"

I chuckled.

"Thanks, Kim... for everything..." I said, feeling drowsy, "and uh... I'm sorry"

"For?"

"For ignoring you all this time..." I said, not feeling proud to let it go, but perhaps it was time.

"It's okay" Kim said, in sort of a whisper, "let's just forgive each other, ok?"

"Sure" I smiled and let myself drift off.

Tomorrow would be the day... that my fate would ultimately be determined...

"My little friend"

by Sonicfan287

Chapter 20: My little finale


"Wake up sleepy head..." I heard a female voice, nagging at me as I attempted to sleep. I roll over lazily and say "5 more minutes..."

"C'mon... wakey wakey..." I heard Kim speaking in her childish voice again. I groaned and turned away.

"Don't make me pick you up, little Bobby" Kim said, in a teasing voice.

"You wouldn't..." I mumbled, now rolling onto my back with my eyes barely open.

"Oh really?" Kim smiled and firmly gripped me in her hand, lifting me off the table. I gasped and looked down, letting out a yelp.

"Okay, I'm awake!!" I gasped.

"Good" Kim chuckled, "Sorry, got to savor this, don't know how much longer you'll be this size..."

"Hopefully, not long" I sighed.

"Oh c'mon, you've enjoyed it somewhat" Kim said, "and I know you enjoyed getting to go between my boobs"

I blushed a little and sighed.

"Yeah thats what I thought" Kim smirked, and carried me past her kitchen, through her front door and into her car, where she set me down on the cup holder. I fidgeted a little to make myself comfortable in the small rubber grooves of the cup holder rim.

She started up the car and said "next stop, Jen's house!"

She seemed quite perky and excited this morning, as if this adventure was the highlight of her week... and well, I guess there wouldn't be too many more opportunities to try this again... thank god.

It was kinda odd though, I thought to myself as I looked over at Kim's profile from where I was sitting, then back towards the hulking dashboard in front of me. It was odd that despite my horrible experiences being 3 inches high, I had actually reunited with my ex in a way I hadn't thought would ever be possible, and weirder that the girl I thought I had feelings for for all this time may have been tricking me the whole time. I still wanted to give Jen the benefit of the doubt though, since my cell phone had been unusable for the time being. Perhaps she had tried to keep in contact with me, but honestly, it was hard to predict anything at this point.

"Hey" Kim said. I looked up at her. "I'm sorry about your cell phone... as soon as this is all over, I'll get you a new one"

"Sure..." I said, and then sort of drifted off again, before I decided to change the topic, "but Kim... what if this isn't over? What if I'm stuck like this?"

"Well like I said..." Kim said, taking a left turn. I was sort of jolted to the side when she did, but she kept speaking, "if that's the case, I'll leave it up to you... I mean, I'd gladly take care of you, but in all honesty, we'd probably have to tell your parents, so at least your family wouldn't worry too much about you..."

I sighed and said, "Yeah... I really wouldn't want my family seeing me this way". I then frowned as I looked down at the inside of the cup holder.

"Bobby, it'll be alright" Kim said, but I could tell by the way she said it that even she wasn't certain of that fact. I looked up at her again and forced a smile, but as sure as I knew she wasn't looking my way, I resumed my uncertain frown.

After several more moments of silence, Kim slowed the car and I looked up but still couldn't see much from my position, just the overcast sky and what looked like the top of a house... Jen's house, I was assuming.

"Are...we here?" I asked and bit my lip as I looked up at Kim.

"Yep" Kim sighed and sounded nervous herself, "so... uh... good luck"

"What do you mean, you're not coming with me?" I asked nervously.

"Heh I don't think that would work too well, Bobby" Kim said, "me going up to their house and ringing the bell... what am I gonna say to her parents, 'Hi I have a little guy for your daughter'"

I forced a laugh.

"I see what you mean" I said.

"I will walk you up there though" Kim said, unbuckling her seatbelt and setting her hand down next to me. I struggled to climb on, but finally did. She lifted me gently from the cup holder and took me out of the car.

I gulped nervously as Kim took her first steps towards Jen's door. Behind that door awaited all the answers I'd ever need, including how my life would turn out.

"Kim..." I said, getting more nervous by the second.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything, seriously" I said and gave her a half smile as she set me down on Jen's front porch. There was enough of a space between the bottom of the front door and the ground for me to slide under.

"No problem" Kim whispered, kneeling below the windows so she couldn't be spotted, before she stood up again and said, "good luck, call me if you need anything"

"Will do" I said, and gave her a thumbs up. As soon as she left, my mind filled with anxiety and panic. I looked back towards Kim who was retreating to her car, and then back at the door which stood before me like a skyscraper. I remain frozen for several moments before I finally force myself forward, all the while wondering if I even wanted to do this.

If it wasn't for me forcibly falling into Kim's hands, I might've never found out this unfortunate truth, but then what wouldve happened to me? Would Sarah have just kept me as her plaything forever? Jen obviously had no intention of bringing me back to my normal size... at least as far as I knew.

I get down on my hands and knees and eventually onto my stomach. I slide under the door and then force myself to get up quickly as I heard footsteps coming. I throw my back against the wall that juts out just past the door and sidle along it, until I'm shielded behind a coat rack. I peek around the coat rack as if I'm a secret agent and see a woman with tall lanky legs and a skinny torso. It wasn't Jen but my guess was it was her mother who walks out the door.

I run out from behind the coat rack and down the hallway which seems to stretch for a long distance. Then I hear more thunderous footsteps and panic. There was nowhere to hide in this hallway!

I notice I'm right by a threshold to another room, so I throw myself against the wall again, completely exposed, but most people wouldn't think to look against a wall for a tiny person to be there.

I gasp and nearly close my eyes as a giant sneaker hits the rug just a few feet away from me. The rug makes a squishy thud with each footstep. I look up and see her ... Jen!

"Jen!" I said, in a loud whisper. She doesn't turn around, so I shout it out, "JEN!!"

My heart rate speeds up as I realize she's getting away and couldn't hear me. She was so much bigger than me now, it was still weird to think that just a day ago, I held her in my hands.

"JEN!!" I scream, beginning to feel as if this was hopeless. I was nothing but a bug to her now... she couldn't hear me, couldn't see me and I was running out of energy. I had to sprint just to keep within a few feet of her massive body. "JEN, PLEASE....COME BACK!!"

I fall onto my knees and sigh. I notice she's slowed down to open a door. I gasp and pick up a second burst of energy to run after her.

"Jen! Wait!!" I screamed as she began closing the door behind me. I jumped quickly to avoid being squished in the door and rolled onto the ground and was stopped by something soft ... some clothing in the corner.

I looked up and around to see that I was in a fairly small room with a few dressers but not much more. There's a 19" TV perched up on a rack along with some trophies and picture frames. Some of the pictures are hard to see from where I am, but I do catch a glimpse of one, of Jen with her mom when she younger. I can't tell what the trophies are, but that didn't seem relevant to me at this time, so I pulled myself up and watched Jen sit down on a computer chair. On the dresser was a laptop that she was using. I had to find a way to get her attention... but how?

I walk until I'm just under the computer chair, but that wouldn't do me any good. Just the legs of the chair came up to my waist and I became paranoid that she would move the chair and inadvertedly kill me, so I hastily retreated again, trying to think of a new plan. The desk was way too steep for me to climb but I did spot a dangling blue wire that stretched from the back of the laptop to the floor. Unfortunately, it looked about as stable as a bungee cord, but I didn't have much choice.

I sighed and tried to calm myself down as I grabbed hold of the dangling wire, which had some thickness to it, but probaly not enough to hold my weight. I tug on it a couple times to make sure I won't fall for sure, before I prop myself up against the side of the desk and begin to climb.

I struggle for a while until I get acclimated to the height and the fact that the wires actually have some grip to them.

As I'm climbing however, I hear a slight creaking noise and look up to see that the wire is pulling out from the back of the lap top. I cringe and finally decide to try shouting.

"JEN, HELP ME!!"

"Huh?" Jen said, suddenly looking up from the screen of the laptop.

"JEN, HELP ME!! IT'S BOBBY!!" I screamed, still desperately trying to climb upwards, but then the cord disconnected from the back of the laptop, sending me downward.

I closed my eyes as I felt myself falling several feet but then I was suddenly halted by a soft mat below me. I open my eyes, startled, to see that I was sitting atop Jen's hand. I give her a nervous smile.

"Uh hi" I said, and waved to her.

"Bobby?" Jen said, her eyes wide with surprise as she brought me up to her dresser and set me down next to the laptop, which rose above me like a massive movie theater screen. "How..."

"Don't start asking ME questions" I said, getting up. I suddenly didn't care how nervous I was, I wanted answers and I wanted them now! "I should be asking you a few of my own..."

"Bobby, I can explain" Jen said and bent forward some. I backed away, just because I was still spooked by the sheer size of people.

"Well?" I said, giving her a glare.

"Bobby... I..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm... sorry" Jen said and hooded her eyes down, as her mouth transformed into a bitter frown. It was almost as if she never expected this encounter.

"Jen..." I sighed, "what the hell is going on?"

Jen bit her lip, her eyes still wide open and slightly shiny as they filled with tears. She kept her eyes fixated on me, with her lower lip quivering, as if I was supposed to pity her.

"Enough of the games, Jen, just tell me!" I said, my face now scowling her as I glared into her massive eyes which were deep with regret.

"Bobby... it's complicated" Jen said, breathing heavily as she spoke. When she blinked her eyes, I noticed a small tear escaping from them. "I... never should've gotten you involved with this..."

"It's too late to look back now" I said, walking forward now. "So... let me guess... you're not... really a fairy, are you?"

Jen closed her eyes and glanced down towards the ground, nodding her head "no".

"Then why the hell did you tell me you were?" I asked.

"Because" Jen said, her speech forced as she fought back more tears, "I couldn't tell you the truth, I've never told ANYONE the truth..."

"Well I think you at least owe me THAT, Jen... I mean, LOOK at me!" I shouted.

"I know I know... I'm so sorry" Jen said and cupped her hands over her face, so I wouldn't see her outpour of tears. Finally she composed herself once more. "Bobby... the truth is... I was shrunk... in 2006..."

"I figured that out by the news story" I replied, "but...how?"

Jen sighed and continued looking down at me.

"Well... HOW DID IT HAPPEN?" I asked finally.

"Ok ok, fine... I'll tell you... just please... give me a second" Jen said and sniffed back her tears. "Okay... it was 3 years ago, and I was dating this guy... named Andy..."

I looked down and frowned when she said that.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine, keep goin" I said.

"Anyway, I was dating Andy... and well... he was kind of a controlling guy..." Jen explained, "and after a while, I just had to break it off..."

"Ok..." I said, following her to this point.

"Unfortunately, Andy didn't take it too well..." Jen sighed, as a tear made its way down her soft cheek.

"Wh-What happened?" I asked.

"Well it was one night, at Avery Point..."

"So you really DID go to Avery Point..." I said, trying to determine if any of her story was ever true.

"Yeah... it was my first year there, and Andy was one of the only people who ever showed me any kind of affection... but.. I just didn't want to be his girlfriend anymore..." Jen said, "so we were friends for a little while after that when we were hanging out one night at the Branford House..."

"And then what?" I asked.

"Andy told me... to stand on a certain spot... he told me to stand in a certain corner..." Jen explained, "I thought it was weird, but he said he just wanted to show me something... so I stood there and then he started reciting something..."

"What?"

"Some... some kind of spell..." Jen explained, "He kept chanting something and I remember at that point thinking he was insane... but I couldn't stop him... he just kept chanting and I couldn't move... and... and..."

"And?"

"And I started shrinking..." Jen continued, "I got smaller and smaller, and I cried out to him, 'stop! please stop' but he wouldn't listen... and finally... I stopped shrinking, but I was only... 3 inches high..."

"Oh..." I sighed, feeling bad for her, assuming that story was true.

"But before he left, I begged him to change me back, I told him I'd do whatever he wanted, but he still wouldn't listen" Jen continued, "then he said something that stayed with me for a while, he told me the only way the spell could be broken was if I found someone else... willing to take the hex for me..."

"And... that's why you shrunk me...?" I asked.

"Please don't say it like that..." Jen sighed, "I didn't SHRINK you, it just... it just..."

"From where I'm standing, I'm looking pretty small..." I remarked.

"Please stop!" Jen cried, "don't compare me to that monster!"

"But if that was the truth... why didn't you just tell me in the beginning?" I asked.

"Because... I didn't want you to get involved at all..." Jen said, "do you think you were the first person to find me? Others have seen me, walking in the grass, hiding in the Branford House, I always make something up, say I'm a fairy, a spritekin, sometimes I even tell people theyre hallucinating and I'm not really there... but for some reason, you actually cared... you actually wanted to get to know me... and well, I hadn't felt like that for a long time..."

"But if you had told me the truth, Jen, I would've helped you..." I said, "I would've helped you get to normal size again... if you hadn't lied to me..."

"But Bobby, there IS no other way" Jen cried, "This was the only way to break the curse... and I didn't even want you to, but you insisted and I..."

"I wouldn't have INSISTED if I knew the whole story..." I shouted, and then got nervous before I asked, "am I... gonna be this size forever?"

"Um... well..." Jen said, looking down at me nervously, "technically... no... the spell can be broken for you too... but..."

"But?"

"But you'd have to do what I did..." Jen said.

"So you mean, we'd have to switch back?" I asked.

"Right..." Jen sighed.

"And you... won't..." I said, feeling any spirit I might have had leave me. I sighed and sat down on the desk now, looking up into Jen's eyes... the eyes I once dreamt of in my mind, but at that moment they didn't look like the eyes I had fallen in love with.

"Bobby... I..." Jen said, her voice once again breaking. "...this isn't easy for me..."

"So you were gonna let me stay this size... forever..." I sighed.

"No, I swear... I was going to tell you about this in a couple days... I just... I haven't seen my family since the whole thing happened" Jen said.

"Why didn't you ask your family for help? When this first happened, why didn't you call them and ask them for help?" I asked.

"I was too ashamed!!" she cried, "I didn't tell anyone, I just wanted to hide away forever and for a while I did... living off just scraps of food and running from bigger people... I never thought I'd even have an opportunity to be this size again... surely Bobby, you must know what it feels like to get something you really wanted for so long..."

"No..." I sighed, "I WOULDN'T know that feeling..."

"Bobby..." Jen said, her voice shifting towards a warmer tone as she looked me over and set her hand down near me. I back away and look up at her with skepticism in my eye. "... I promise I'll take care of you, no matter..."

"NO!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I found myself shouting. I didn't even mean to, but it just slipped out, so I kept going, "I DON'T WANT TO BE TAKEN CARE OF, I WANT MY OLD LIFE BACK! I'M SORRY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, I REALLY AM, BUT HOW IS THIS FAIR TO ME? I HAVE TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE LIKE THIS... BECAUSE OF YOU...?"

"Bobby, I'm sorry" Jen sighed.

"Whatever" I said and turned my back to her and then fell to my knees, crying as well, my tears falling like raindrops onto her desk.

"Bobby?" Jen asked.

"Leave me alone" I sighed and flopped onto the desk.

I realized that using her logic, I COULD return to normal size by asking Kim to give up her height for me, but I could never do that... I wouldn't... not after all we'd been through.

Just then, Jen and I heard a loud scream and a thud. I got up suddenly and looked over at Jen who looked aghast.

"Wh-whats going on?" I asked, looking Jen in the eye as she looked back at me.

"We gotta get out of here" Jen said, suddenly panicked.

"wh-why?" I asked.

"No time to explain" Jen said, and scooped me into her hands. "Let's go"

Jen started to walk and then the doorknob to her room began jostling. The door flew open and Jen, in a panic move set me up on top of the TV rack, from which I could see everything.

A black haired male stormed into the room wearing a red sweatshirt and black shorts. He glared at Jen who also glared back.

"Andy... what'd you do to my parents?!" she shouted.

"They'll be fine... but you... not so much" Andy said with an evil smile. I glared down at him as well, not that it would do Jen much good. I wished there was something I could do.

Jen tried to dart around Andy, who was blocking the way out, but he forcibly threw her onto the bed. Now that was just wrong. I narrowed my eyes at him, desperately trying to think of something.

"Well, I'll be damned, Jenny" he said, "You actually found a way around my 'little' spell"

"Andy, this isn't funny!" Jen said and took a slap at him. He clenched her wrist and threw it back.

"Don't test me, Jenny" he said, his tone of voice more sinister than before, "I thought for sure you'd stay that size forever, but somehow you found a dork stupid enough to switch sizes with you... I must say I'm impressed"

"He's not a dork!" Jen yelled, "he's a better person than you'll ever be!"

"I doubt that" Andy smirked, "for one thing, I'm the best you've ever had... and the best there'll ever be...you had a chance to be my girlfriend, but you blew it"

"Noone wants to be with an asshole like you, Andy!" Jen screamed, still trying to slink away from him, but he kept in front of her to block her escape at all times.

I could do nothing but watch helplessly, rooting for Jen to somehow defend herself but it wasn't looking good.

"Well no matter" Andy smiled, "you won't be so lucky this time"

Jen glared at him and suddenly bursted off into a sprint, scampering around him and heading for the door.

"I don't think so!" Andy smiled and then began the ominous chanting, "melanki... sohorti... menangi..."

"No..." Jen screamed, and her voice trailed off into a faint whisper. She suddenly froze in mid stride and Andy walked closer to assure his spell took effect.

"That's it" I thought to myself, watching Andy move closer to my location and closer to Jen who stood in frozen helplessness as Andy chanted his spell. I then noticed her starting to shrink. I couldn't let my sacrifice be in vain. I wouldn't let her get shrunk this time.

I throw myself against the back of the TV on the rack and push against it as hard as I can but it's barely budging. Jen, in the meantime was still sobbing hopelessly as she dwindled in size. I continue to push my strength into the massive block that was the TV set, knowing all I had to do was get it over the edge of the rack, just a little bit to get it to fall.

"C'mon..." I muttered to myself, keeping one eye on Jen who was rapidly shrinking now, down to 2 feet tall. I finally feel the TV begin to gain momentum and with one mighty shove, I feel gravity take effect.

"...molati..." Andy continued, but suddenly he was halted in his tracks. The TV falls just inches from his head, but instead lands on his foot causing him to scream out in pain.

Luckily, because the incantation was interuppted, Jen is no longer paralyzed and even though she stands at only 2 feet tall, she's able to shove him against the door. He tumbles onto the floor and Jen begins to slowly grow back to normal. Luckily the spell hadn't become permanent.

Now with the advantage, Jen repeatedly kicks the fallen Andy in the side of the head as he screams out in pain. To be sure he was unconscious, she also slams the door against his skull many times. I cringed with each loud sound, but also savored the moment. It was nice to see the asshole get what was coming to him. Jen hastily reached for the phone and dialed 911.

I sighed with relief, and out of breath and distraught, found myself collapsing against the wall.

Hours later, I awoke to hear the sound of retreating sirens and commotion coming from another room. Finally the door opened again and Jen looked at me with a sweet look in her eyes.

"Wh-What happened?" I said, standing up as my memories quickly rushed back to me.

"Bobby..." Jen said, with a slight smile as she picked me up gently from the shelf and set me back down on her desk. "...you might be the sweetest guy...ever..."

"What?" I asked, certainly not expecting that.

"You risked yourself to save me..." Jen said, her smile slowly growing wider as she spoke, "you could've just stood there and let him shrink me... but you didn't"

"well..." I said, "I wanted you to be happy... that's all I've ever wanted ... that's why I did this for you..."

"I know" Jen said, still smiling. "And..."

"And...?"

"I want you to be happy too..." Jen sighed and put her hand on the table. "Please... let me make this right"

"Huh?" I asked.

"Step onto my hand" Jen said, "I promise I won't hurt you"

I stepped onto her hand.

She raised me up slowly, until I was face to face with her, and then she slowly pressed her warm lips against my body, until she released me with a slight 'smack' noise. I fell backwards and smiled.

"Thank you... so much" Jen said, "I... I love you, Bobby"

"I... I.. love you, Jen" I said, chuckling nervously. No matter what size, these kind of things made me nervous.

"And because I love you..." Jen said and set me down on the ground, "Im gonna do what I should've done all along..."

"huh?"

"Just close your eyes, Bobby..." Jen said, "close your eyes and think deeply..."

"Wh-Why? What's going on?" I asked.

"Don't you get it, silly?" Jen asked, "I'm returning you to normal size... you don't deserve to be tiny... but I do... after everything I did to you..."

"But Jen, what about you?" I asked.

"I'll be small again..." Jen said, "but I can deal with that, I'd rather have you as a friend"

"Just a friend?" I asked nervously.

"Well, that part's up to you, Bobby" Jen replied, and winked at me.


"O-Okay... I'll do it" I sighed and closed my eyes. The weird thing was, I did want to return to normal, but I couldn't help but feel awful about shrinking Jen again.

"Okay, here goes nothing" Jen said and gulped before closing her eyes. I waited and waited but felt nothing for some time.
"Bobby... let go of your doubt... I'm okay with this... really... just wish for it... like you did before..."

I sighed heavily and decided to do as she said. I open my eyes to realize I'm growing again, but I didn't feel as ecstatic as I thought.

Within moments I'm standing face to face with Jen, but I knew it wouldn't be more than several seconds before she shrunk back down to 'fairy' size.

"Bobby, I..."

I grabbed her in my arms and pulled her close before I opened my mouth and locked lips with her for several seconds. She backed away from me with a smile, but then that smile faded as she found herself shrinking again... getting smaller and smaller still until she returned to fairy size.

"Jen, I'm so sorry" I sighed.

"No, it's fine..." Jen sighed and hung her arms and face in shame. "I deserved it..., I guess I'll go tell my parents that their daughter is..."

"Wait..." I said, suddenly being struck with an idea.

"What?"

"You love me, right?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah..."

"And I love you..." I said, "so... I'm willing to do whatever I have to, for you..."

"SO...what are you trying to say?" Jen asked.

"I'm just saying..." I said, "you shouldn't have to go through this alone..."

"You have an idea, don't you?" Jen smiled.

"You better believe it" I said and nodded my head.


-------Several days later

It was just another day for me at Avery Point, in the student center... well okay maybe not... some things HAD changed in the time gone by. Jen was now a registered student at Avery Point and was friends with John and Sarah and as for me, well... I was up to my usual...

"Yeah, okay, I guess I could do that..." I said, talking on my newwest cell phone. "Well, hold on, can I call you back? Yep, see you later Kim"

I sighed and hung up my cell phone, then looked up in disgust.

"Jen?" I asked and she finally stopped walking long enough to pull me out of her pocket.

"What's wrong, Bobby?" she asked.

"Well I just thought TODAY was MY day to be normal sized..." I answered.

"Well normally it would be," Jen replied, "but I have a job interview, and certainly we can't have me going in a barbie suit"

"Fine" I said and crossed my arms.

"Oh relax, honey" Jen said, "Look at it this way, I'll just give you my Sunday in return and then you have have me small and to yourself all weekend"

"Okay okay" I sighed. She always had a way to get to me, it seemed. She then hid me in her pocket again as John walked by.

"Hey, Jen, have you seen Bobby?" John asked, as the bustling student center around them grew louder.

"Nope" Jen smiled.

"That's weird, where could he be?" John asked, and kept walking.

"Who knows?" Jen smirked, "something tells me he's closer than you think..."

After John has departed, I look up at Jen and asked, "so Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna go out and pick out some tea bags?" I asked.

"It's a date"

THE END